"LI  B  RAR.Y 

OF  THE 
UN  IVLRSITY 
Of    ILLINOIS 


913.773 
M787ca 
cop.  4 


ILL.   HIST.   SURV. 


1*1 


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IVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  BULLETIN 

Issued  Weekly 
Vol.  XXI  October  8,  1923  N^  g 

(Entered  as  second-class  matter  December  u,  1912,  at  the  post  office  at  Urbana,  Illinois  under  the 
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THE   CAHOKIA   MOUNDS 


PART  I 

A  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS 

BY 
WARREN  K.  MOOREHEAD 


PART  II 

SOME  GEOLOGICAL  ASPECTS 

BY 
MORRIS  M.  LEIGHTON 


PRICE  $1.50 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBANA,  ILLINOIS 


THE  CAHOKIA  MOUNDS 


PART  I 


A  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS  ON  THE  EXPLORATION 
OF  THE  CAHOKIA  GROUP 


BY 
WARREN  K.  MOOREHEAD 


PART  II 

THE  GEOLOGICAL  ASPECTS  OF  SOME  OF  THE 
CAHOKIA  (ILLINOIS)  MOUNDS 

BY 

MORRIS  M.  LEIGHTON 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
URBANA.  ILLINOIS 


Copyright,  1923 
By  the  University  of  Illinois 


Distributed,  November,   1923 

Contribution  from  the  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  No.  28 

Edited  by 
Frank  Collins  Baker 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS       ,    ., 
^c^S-fQJ.^  Part  I  ^' 


/V 


Introduction 9 

Explorations  in  the  Spring  of  1922 12 

Descriptions  of  the  Mounds  Investigated 14 

The  Sawmill  Mound,  No.  39 14 

Mounds  19,  20,  and  21 17 

The  James  Ramey  Mound,  No.  33 19 

The  Jondro  Mound,  No.  83 27 

Sam  Chucallo  Mound 29 

Pittsburg  Lake  Cemetery 30 

Mounds  14  and  84 31 

Sullivan's  Mounds 32 

The  Kruger  Bone  Bank 34 

The  Harding  Mound,  No.  66 34 

Mrs.  Tippetts'  Mound,  No.  61 35 

The  Mitchell  Mounds 36 

The   Collinsville-Edgemont   Bluffs 37 

Village  Site  Observations 38 

The  Wells'-Tippetts'  Village  Site 39 

The  Stock  Yards  Site 39 

Testing  the  Bottoms  of  the  Ponds 41 

Previous  Work  and  Collections  Relating  to  the  Cahokia  Group .  .  43 

Dr.  Patrick 43 

Specimens  from  Cahokia 44 

Observations  on  the  Season's  Work 47 

The  Immensity  of  Cahokia 49 

Notes  on  Cahokia  Skeletons,  by  Dr.  R.  J.  Terry 51 

Cahokia    Bibliography 53 


Part  II 

Letter  of  Transmittal ^o 

Introduction 6i 

The  Problem 6i 

Acknowledgments 6i 

Former  Opinions  of  Geologists 62 

General  Description  of  the  Mounds 67 

Number,  Size,  and  Shape 67 

Monks  Mound 68 

Arrangement  of  the  Mounds 68 

The  Geological  Setting  of  the  Mounds 71 

Topographic  Position 71 

The  Alluvial   Filling 72 

Remnants  of  the  Original  Glacial  Filling 73 

Post-Glacial    Conditions 75 

Bearing  Upon  the  Age  and  Origin  of  the  Mounds 76 

Constitution  of  the  Mounds 77 

The  James  Ramey  Mound,  No.  };^ 77 

The  Albert  Kunnemann  Mound,  No.  16 86 

The  Sam  Chucallo  Mound 87 

The  Sawmill  Mound,  No.  39 89 

Auger  Borings  on  Monks  Mound 89 

Comparison  with  the  Materials  of  the  East  Valley  Bluff.  .  .  92 

Summary  of  the  Evidence  and  Conclusions 95 


Part  I 

A  REPORT  OF  PROGRESS  ON  THE  EXPLORATION 
OF  THE  CAHOKIA  GROUP 

BY 

Warren  K.  Moore  head 


Curator,  Department  of  Archeology,  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass. 

Director,  Archeological  Survey  of  the  Cahokia  Region 

for  the  University  of  Illinois 


INTRODUCTION 

In  the  spring  of  1922  and  again  during  the  fall  of  the  same 
year,  researches  were  continued  at  the  Cahokia  Mounds. 
It  was  due  to  the  Trustees  and  the  President  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois  that  these  additional  researches  were 
made  possible.  Two  generous  appropriations  were  made 
by  the  University.  All  artifacts  and  specimens  found  are 
in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  at  Urbana,  and  are  on 
exhibition  in  the  Hall  of  Ethnology.  I  desire  to  express 
full  appreciation  of  the  cooperation  and  kindness  of  Presi- 
dent David  Kinley,  Curator  Frank  C.  Baker,  Mr.  F.  W. 
De  Wolf,  and  Dr.  M.  M.  Leighton.  Dr.  Leighton  made 
observations  upon  the  geological  features  of  Cahokia  and 
his  report  appears  in  Part  II. 

Continuing  the  same  spirit  manifested  last  year,  the 
owners  permitted  excavations  upon  their  several  proper- 
ties. In  some  places  large  pits  were  excavated,  but  for  the 
most  part  the  holes  were  rather  small.  Extensive  testing 
was  projected  in  various  directions  and  some  damage  to 
crops  resulted.  In  the  case  of  Mound  33 — which  we  called 
the  James  Ramey  Mound — two  acres  of  wheat  were  de- 
stroj-^d,  and  as  the  pit  was  left  open  until  fall,  the  corn 
crop  on  that  tract  could  not  be  planted.  Thus  four  acres 
of  crops  were  destroyed  on  this  one  mound.  The  general 
testing  of  the  village  site  extending  over  the  lands  owned 
by  George  Merrell,  Esq.,  interfered  somewhat  with  plant- 
ing, yet  Mr.  Merrell  and  his  tenants,  Mr.  Henry  Stolle, 
Mr.  Wm.  Johnson,  and  Mr.  Louis  Recklein,  did  not  ob- 
ject to  our  work.  Mr.  F.  B.  Harding  gave  consent  for  us 
to  put  down  our  long  testing  augers  in  the  Harding  mound. 
I  desire  to  thank  the  Ramey  family  for  their  assistance  to 
the  survey  and  unlimited  permissions  to  explore ;  also  Mr. 
Merrell  and  all  his  tenants.  Mrs.  Wm.  Tippetts,  Mr.  J.  PI. 
Edwards,  Mr.  Ernest  Cole,  and  others  permitted  many 
testings  on  their  lands,  and  Mr.  Rufus  Wells  and  his  ten- 
ant, Mr.  Udell  Allen,  allowed  us  to  work  out  large  pits  in 
the  heavy  village  site  south  of  the  National  Highway. 


lo  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

Mr.  A.  J.  Throop  and  Mr.  W.  E.  Herrington  took  us  on 
several  trips  to  see  sites  and  owners  and  rendered  the  sur- 
vey assistance,  for  which  we  are  grateful.  Mr.  Otto  Kru- 
ger  and  Mr.  Chas.  Jondro  allowed  series  of  large  pits  to 
be  dug  in  their  fields.  Judge  J.  D.  Sullivan  permitted  the 
men  to  excavate  the  two  mounds  located  near  his  residence 
at  Signal  Hill,  and  the  National  Stock  Yards  Company 
let  us  excavate  on  Cahokia  Creek  in  the  busiest  section  of 
East  St.  Louis.  The  survey  wishes  to  thank  all  these 
persons. 

Thomas  H.  English,  a  graduate  student  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin,  made  researches  in  the  library  and  fur- 
nished additional  Cahokia  tiles.  Hon.  W.  E.  Myer,  of 
Carthage,  Tenn.,  an  authority  on  southern  pottery,  studied 
our  collections.  We  appreciate  their  co-operation. 

I  am  especially  indebted  to  Clinton  Cowen,  Esq.,  of 
Cincinnati,  engineer  of  the  survey,  and  to  William  J. 
Seever,  Esq.,  of  Webster  Groves,  Mo.,  for  long  and  ardu- 
ous labors  in  the  field.  Mr.  Cowen  redrew  the  Patrick- 
Van  Court  Map,  inserted  sites  omitted  by  the  first  survey- 
ors and  made  our  cross-sections.  Dr.  R.  J.  Terry  of  Wash- 
ington University,  St.  Louis,  undertook  a  study  of  the 
skeletal  material ;  Mr.  H.  M.  Whelpley  of  St.  Louis  gave 
us  the  benefit  of  his  wide  experience  in  archeological  mat- 
ters ;  Dr.  O.  L.  Schmidt,  President  of  the  Illinois  Historical 
Society,  did  us  many  favors.  Miss  Adele  R.  Brooks  of 
Monticello  Seminary,  Godfrey,  Illinois,  came  to  the 
mounds  and  painted  two  pictures  of  the  mounds  when  they 
were  covered  by  a  blanket  of  brilliant  sumac.  The  principal 
of  Monticello,  Miss  Congdon,  permitted  us  to  study  and 
photograph  the  Cahokia  objects  in  the  Seminary  collection. 
And  there  were  many  others  who  aided  us  in  various  ways 
to  whom  we  express  full  appreciation. 

This  report  will  be  confined,  chiefly,  to  a  narration  of 
excavations  and  observations.  Yet  since  the  preliminary 
report  is  out  of  print  and  there  is  a  constant  demand  for 
copies,  a  few  of  the  pages  in  it  are  published  herein,  with 
some  changes. 


Introduction  ii 

The  plates  of  specimens  in  the  collection  of  the 
Museum  of  Natural  History  of  the  University  of  Illinois, 
were  made  by  Mr.  A.  G.  Eldredge,  Director  of  the  Uni- 
versity Photographic  Laboratory.  All  other  photographs, 
excepting  those  of  the  Seever  collection,  and  two  by  Mr. 
Gordon  Servant,  were  made  by  the  author. 

The  numbers  following  the  descriptions  of  figures  on 
some  of  the  plates  indicate  the  catalog  numbers  of  the 
Division  of  Archeology,  Museum  of  Natural  History.  All 
of  these  specimens  are  on  exhibition  in  the  new  Hall  of 
Ethnology. 


EXPLORATIONS  IN  THE  SPRING  OF  1922 

The  second  survey  began  operations  early  in  March,  1922. 
During  the  winter  the  writer  had  seen  Cahokia  again  and 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Anthropological 
Association,  consulted  with  other  archeologists  as  to  the 
Cahokia  problem.  When  visiting  museums  the  writer 
made  special  efforts  to  obtain  the  point  of  view  of  field  men 
and  investigators  as  to  the  best  method  of  procedure  in 
the  investigations. 

Previous  to  our  arrival,  Mr.  William  J.  Seever  was 
authorized  to  employ  men  to  test  lesser  elevations,  or  low 
mounds,  and  the  area  between.  He  made  use  of  several 
long,  narrow,  steel  rods  from  3^  to  4>4  feet  in  length,  and 
as  the  ground  was  very  soft  at  that  time  of  the  year,  these 
probes  were  of  great  assistance  in  locating  the  bones  and 
objects.  In  case  the  point  of  a  rod  strikes  some  object  the 
workmen  carefully  prod  all  around,  get  its  direction,  and 
size.  The  soil  of  the  American  Bottoms  is  free  from 
stone  and  so  far  as  the  survey  was  able  to  determine  all 
stones — even  pebbles — seem  to  have  been  brought  in  by 
Indians.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  owners  and  ten- 
ants. For  a  number  of  days,  the  men  probed  the  area 
lying  between  Mounds  23  and  43  east  and  west,  and  20  and 
62  north  and  south.  Mounds  19,  20,  and  21  on  the  map 
at  the  time  of  the  Patricks'  visits  seem  to  have  been  dis- 
tinct and  separate.  Now,  due  to  cultivation,  the  edges 
overlap.  The  probes  indicated  burials  in  these  low 
mounds,  and  also  on  the  southern  slope  of  Mound  39,  and 
in  Mound  82.  The  probing  was  stopped  and  several 
trenches  were  run  through  the  edge  of  Mound  39,  and  sub- 
sequently a  large  pit  was  sunk  in  the  center. 

It  was  thought  best  to  do  general  prospecting  and  by 
this  means  secure  accurate  information  as  to  the  extent 
of  the  village  site,  and  whether  there  were  burials  near  the 
surface. 

It  became  necessary  to  change  the  working  crew  from 
one  part  of  the  field  to  another  since  large  numbers  of 

12 


Explorations  in  the  Spring  of  1922  13 

visitors  came  from  adjacent  towns,  and  particularly  from 
both  St.  Louis  and  East  St.  Louis.  Naturally,  the  survey 
did  not  wish  to  offend  any  of  these  people,  yet  spectators 
interfered  with  research  work,  and  frequently  specimens 
disappeared.  It  may  interest  readers  to  know  a  little  of 
the  plan  followed.  After  working  a  few  days  in  one  spot, 
and  when  the  "gallery"  became  too  large,  the  trenches  were 
caved  in,  and  the  men  moved  to  some  other  portion  of  the 
field,  a  mile  or  more  distant.  It  was  generally  known 
when  skeletons  were  discovered,  and  such  finds  always 
brought  numerous  visitors.  On  return  to  their  homes, 
these  persons  invariably  told  their  friends,  and  larger  num- 
bers would  come  out  to  the  scene  of  exploration  the  next 
day.  Finding  no  skeletons  in  sight,  and  the  members  of 
the  survey  nowhere  to  be  seen,  the)^  would  naturally  con- 
clude that  either  work  was  abandoned,  or  the  excavators 
had  moved  to  some  distant  point.  By  this  plan  we  were 
able  to  carry  on  proper  reseach. 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  MOUNDS 
INVESTIGATED 

The  Sawmill  Mound,  No.  39 

Reference  to  the  large  map  in  the  back  of  this  report 
will  indicate  that  on  Rameys'  land  (northwest  from  the 
barn)  is  Mound  No.  39,  which  is  designated  by  local 
people  as  the  Sawmill  Mound.  It  is,  as  near  as  we  could 
determine  without  actual  survey,  240  feet  by  240  feet  in 
extent,  a  square  mound,  with  level  summit.  South  of  it 
600  feet  is  a  large  oval  mound.  No.  41,  25  feet  high.  The 
original  form  may  have  been  either  pyramidal  or  oval. 
No  one  knows.  We  think  a  long,  low  platform  existed 
between  the  Sawmill  Mound  and  the  one  to  the  south.  On 
the  north  side  of  the  Sawmill  Mound  (39)  is  the  old  bed 
of  Cahokia  Creek,  and  on  that  side  the  mound  appears  to 
be  18  or  19  feet  high,  whereas  to  the  south  there  is  a  more 
gradual  slope.  To  the  eye  the  mound  does  not  appear  to  be 
over  7  or  8  feet  high  when  one  looks  northward.  Prob- 
ably a  low  mound  (82)  adjoined  it. 

The  name  was  given  long  ago,  since  sometime  be- 
tween 1850  and  i860  a  mill  boiler  exploded,  killing  twelve 
to  fifteen  men,  who  were  buried  in  a  small  mound  south  of 
the  turnpike,  probably  Mound  78,  or  possibly  No.  47.  This 
circumstance  should  be  remembered  in  case  some  future 
explorers  find  well  preserved  skeletons  with  traces  of 
wooden  coffins  about  them. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  present  a  map  of  the  burials 
along  the  southern  slope  of  the  Sawmill  Mound  (39). 
Extending  in  a  somewhat  irregular  row,  or  line,  for  about 
30  feet  east  and  west,  eight  were  found,  and  numbered  4  to 
II.  The  first  four  of  these  burials  were  headed  north,  the 
next  three  south,  and  No.  11,  northeast.  Nos.  4,  5,  and 
6  lay  in  black  soil  at  a  depth  of  about  30  inches.  The  sur- 
rounding area  for  a  distance  of  several  hundred  feet  was 
tested  carefully  and  disturbed  ground  extended  down  for 
a  depth  of  as  much  as  3  feet,  indicating  an  extensive  village 

14 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated         15 

site.  Black  pottery  predominated,  and  a  few  red  fragments 
were  observed. 

Just  south  of  No.  39  is  a  small  mound  (82),  on  the 
slope  of  which,  down  2  feet,  was  discovered  a  small  bowl- 
like mass  of  hard,  burnt  clay.  Altho  broken  somewhat, 
it  appeared  to  be  circular  in  form,  about  20  inches  in 
diameter,  or  36  inches  around  the  curvature.  No  complete 
measurement  could  be  made,  yet  the  rim  was  well  defined. 
In  the  cavity,  where  the  base  should  have  been,  was  a 
large  lump  of  galena  blackened  by  fire,  also  some  pulver- 
ized galena.  The  lump  weighed  fully  8  pounds  and  the 
powdered  galena  was  about  a  quart  in  quantity.  There 
was  a  pottery  bowl,  7  or  8  inches  in  diameter,  and  3  inches 
high,  with  this  deposit,  and  a  shallow  dish  very  flat,  like  a 
plate,  of  rather  thick  clay,  also  an  oval  stone  on  which 
were  distinct  markings  or  lines  (PI.  II,  Fig.  5).  There 
were  several  ordinary  hammer  stones,  and  a  small  jar, 
almost  crucible  like.  This  is  dark  brown,  well  made, 
stands  about  4  inches  in  height,  and  the  base  is  unusually 
thick  and  heavy.  The  jar  is  shown  in  Fig.  5,  PI.  I. 

The  work  continued  along  the  southern  slope  of  Mound 
39,  and  with  skeleton  No.  9,  a  young  person,  was  a  small 
toy  vessel,  about  2  inches  in  diameter,  near  the  head  (PI. 
I,  Fig.  4) .  At  the  right  of  skeleton  No.  8  was  a  blackened 
bone  object,  probably  an  awl;  also  an  entire  deer  jaw 
bone,  in  the  point  of  which  had  been  cut  a  groove,  thus 
forming  a  small  chisel  or  gouge.  On  the  east  side  of  this 
mound  we  ran  a  trench  35  feet  in  length,  and  5  feet  deep, 
but  no  burials  were  encountered.  A  pit  was  sunk  in  the 
center,  14x15  feet.  This  was  dug  down  16  feet,  then  the 
post  augers  put  down  3^  to  4  feet  farther.  In  the  ex- 
treme base  was  found  a  heavy  wet  clay.  The  mound  was 
stratified  as  follows: — 


Mixed  earth    -     - 

-     -     -    4  feet 

Dark  streak    -     - 

3  inches 

Dark  earth     -     - 

-     10  inches 

Yellow  earth 

-     -      I  foot 

Yellow  earth    - 

-     -     -  2  feet 

Mixed  earth    -     - 

-    -    2  feet 

Dark  streak     - 

-     -    4  inches 

Dark  earth     -     - 

-    -     3  feet 

Yellow  earth   -     - 

-     -    18  inches 

The  layers  in  the  Sawmill  Mound  were  not  even;  in 
the  northwest  corner  they  radiated  from  a  cone  formation — 


i6  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

dipping  to  the  southeast  or  east.  Yet  when  we  were  down 
about  10  feet  they  appeared  to  be  more  horizontal.  On 
the  south  side  of  the  trench  was  a  heavy  black  layer. 

Some  fragments  of  pottery  (PL  XI,  Fig.  i)  also  chips 
and  spalls  were  found  scattered  throughout  the  structure. 
A  peculiar  clay  effigy  of  a  mammal  head,  an  awl  cut  from 
the  lower  jaw  of  a  deer  (PI.  IX,  Fig.  13),  and  a  rare  shell 
effigy  cut  from  a  river  mussel,  were  also  found  in  this 
mound  (see  PI.  VII,  Figs.  2,  7).  The  auger  borings  in  the 
south  side  of  the  pit  showed  heavy  blue  clay,  along  with 
the  gray. 

While  some  workmen  sank  the  pit,  others  continued 
searching  for  burials.  They  found  a  number  of  disturbed 
burials,  or  rather  fragmentary  ones,  much  broken.  These 
were  scattered  throughout  the  soil  2^  to  4^  feet  in 
depth  and  without  regularity.  Probably  Dr.  Patrick  or 
Mr.  McAdams  had  dug  here,  since  the  soil  seemed  soft- 
and  disturbed.  Below  all  the  burials  we  sank  test  pits 
several  feet  in  depth. 

Skeleton  No.  11  lay  extended  head  northeast  (PI. 
XIII,  Fig.  2).  It  was  quite  well  preserved.  An  ordinary 
jar  lay  near  the  right  hand,  and  a  bowl  near  the  left  knee 
(PI.  I,  Fig.  6).  A  shell  gorget  and  a  bone  knife  were  also 
found  with  this  skeleton  (PL  VII,  Fig.  i ;  PL  IX,  Fig.  8). 

While  part  of  the  men  were  working  under  the  writer's 
direction,  Mr.  Seever  took  a  crew  and  prospected  two  low 
mounds  west  of  No.  48.  In  Mound  80  he  ran  a  trench 
about  6  feet  in  width,  and  50  in  length,  finding  a  large 
number  of  potsherds,  bones,  and  burnt  clay,  and  village  site 
material.  He  also  went  more  than  a  mile  up  Canteen 
Creek  and  prospected  both  sides  of  the  stream  for  a  dis- 
tance of  half  a  mile.  The  drainage  canal  system  inaugur- 
ated by  the  County  Commissioners  sometime  ago  has  so 
changed  conditions  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  make 
further  observations.  He  says,  'T  find  that  the  old  bottom 
lands  of  Cahokia  and  Canteen  creeks  have  been  filled  in 
by  wash  in  flood  time  from  5  to  10  feet,  thus  obliterating 
some  low  mounds  that  were  in  existence,  and  covered  up 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated         17 

the  deposits  mentioned  as  having  been  seen  by  Charles 
Rau  in  the  '6o's." 

Mounds  19,  20,  and  21 
Probing  the  lesser  mounds  indicated  burials  north  of 
Mound  33,  and  reference  to  the  large  map  will  indicate 
that  there  are  seven  mounds  in  a  line  east  and  west.  Three 
of  these,  Nos.  19,  20,  and  21,  are  so  near  together  that  the 
edges  overlap.  This  is  probably  due  to  cultivation  of  the 
soil.  The  original  heights  of  these  structures  are  unknown, 
but  we  assume  that  No.  20  was  the  largest.  No.  19  is 
at  present  about  5  feet  in  height,  20  about  4  feet,  and  21 
is  about  3  feet  in  altitude.  Most  of  the  burials  were  in 
No.  20,  or  on  the  slope  of  it.  Skeleton  No.  12  was  found 
on  the  southern  slope  of  No.  19  at  a  depth  of  about  3  feet, 
and  was  fairly  well  preserved.  The  right  leg  had  been  much 
elevated  and  we  found  the  tibia  and  femur  at  least  a  foot 
above  the  rest  of  the  body;  yet  it  had  not  been  disturbed 
by  the  plow,  and  this  curious  form  of  burial  must  have 
been  intentional. 

At  the  head  of  this  skeleton  were  four  pots  shown  in  PI. 
XIV,  Fig.  i:  first  the  bowl,  next  the  jar,  then  a  dish  in 
which  a  fine,  dipper-like  object  was  placed.  This  is  decor- 
ated with  sun  symbols  and  has  a  long,  slender,  projecting 
handle.  The  right  arm  of  the  skeleton  was  in  normal 
position  to  the  elbow,  but  the  ulna  and  radius  lay  across 
the  abdomen,  and  the  left  leg  was  bent  at  the  knee.  All 
of  this  pottery  was  perfect,  but  there  was  nothing  else  in 
the  grave.  (PI.  I,  Figs.  1-3).  Skeleton  33  was  doubled  up, 
the  knees  being  drawn  up  to  the  abdomen.  There  was  dis- 
turbed earth  just  east  of  it,  and  a  detached  skull  2  feet 
north.  Numerous  test  pits  showed  several  fragmentary^ 
human  skeletons,  and  much  village  site  debris. 

About  150  feet  from  the  west  end  of  our  trench,  at  the 
depth  of  3  feet,  were  many  fragments  of  spades  and  hoes, 
or  digging  tools  of  reddish  chert.  Why  these  were  all 
broken  we  do  not  know.  There  were  enough  fragments  to 
comprise  15  or  20  of  the  tools,  and  about  them  were  ashes, 
and  burnt  earth.  Fifteen  feet  beyond  was  a  mass  of  pul- 
verized galena  lying  in  ashes. 


i8  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

Our  total  trench  was  extended  a  distance  of  over  250 
feet  from  the  center  of  Mound  19  well  into  No.  21. 
Much  village  site  material  occurred  through  the  soil  and 
extended  in  places  as  deep  as  7  feet.  Naturally,  the  great- 
est depths  at  which  village  site  debris  occurred  were  near  the 
highest  parts  of  the  mounds.  Plate  XV,  Fig.  2,  shows  the 
position  of  two  skeletons.  The  burial  in  the  foreground 
had  a  vessel  at  the  head ;  the  skull  rested  upon  a  small  sea 
shell  and  there  were  traces  of  pigment  (in  small  lumps) 
near  the  face.    Between  burials  21  and  22  was  found  an 


*5^ 


%  ,5*      *^'U-  J 


Fig.  I — Position  of  skeletons  in  trench  cut  through  mounds  19,  20,  21. 

ordinary  cooking  pot,  lying  5  feet  from  the  nearest  skele- 
ton. With  three  or  four  of  the  other  skeletons  we  found 
ordinary  clay  dishes  or  bowls  usually  placed  by  the  head. 
None  of  the  skeletons  were  well  preserved  altho  two 
or  three  were  taken  out  fairly  entire  and  loaned  to  Dr. 
A.  J.  Terry  of  the  Medical  Department  of  Washington 
University.  It  is  not  necessary  to  record  all  the  depths  of 
the  skeletons ;  they  varied  from  2^/2  feet  to  6^^  feet,  and 
save  one  or  two  were  all  extended.  Eight  of  them  lay  with 
the  heads  to  the  north,  3  with  the  heads  to  the  east,  2  with 
the  heads  west,  5  with  the  heads  south,  and  others  north- 
west and  southeast  (Text  Fig.  i).  Whether  pottery  orig- 
inally placed  by  the  natives  had  been  removed  by  Mc- 
Adams,  Patrick,  or  others,  we  do  not  know.  It  is  possible 
that  no  pottery  was  placed  with  these  interments,  except 
such  as  we  recovered.  Assuming  that  such  statement  is 
correct,  about  one-third  of  the  burials  were  accompanied 
by  vessels  or  pottery.  Two-thirds  were  without  potter>^ 
The  exception  is  with  No.  12  which  was  accompanied 
by  four  vessels  as  has  been  stated.    A  line  needle  was 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated         19 

found  with  skeleton  No.  30  (PL  XIII,  Fig.  2)  and  an 
awl  made  from  the  heel  of  a  deer  with  skeleton  No.  18 
(PI.  IX,  Fig.  10). 

Dr.  F.  S.  Smith,  of  Nevada,  Iowa,  was  present  during 
the  removal  of  these  skeletons,  and  attempted  to  make 
some  observations  on  the  remains,  as  they  lay  in  the 
ground.  He  made  no  measurements  and  his  notes  are 
mere  field  suggestions. 

No.  16.  Female. 

No.  18.  Probably  female,  decayed,  and  therefore  sex  uncertain. 

No.  20.  Young  woman  18  to  25  years. 

No.  21.  Female;  pelvis  very  light,  the  brim  typical  form.  An- 
tero-posterior  diameter  about  4^^  inches.  The  iliac  crest  very  thin 
and  the  roughened  crest  for  attachment  of  muscles  not  well  devel- 
oped. All  long  bones  small  and  delicate.  The  femora  typical  form 
and  meeting  of  the  lower  leg  at  the  usual  angle  for  women. 

"It  is  impossible  to  make  any  accurate  measurements  but  the 
thin  light  bones,  and  typical  size  and  form  of  the  clavicles  all  point 
to  the  above  numbered  skeletons  as  being  females." 

All  the  interments  appear  to  be  on  the  same  level  or 
base  line,  and  were  probably  village  rather  than  mound 
burials.  That  most  of  them  appear  to  be  women  is  inter- 
esting, as  usually  both  sexes  are  found  in  the  cemeteries. 

The  James  Ramey  Mound,  No.  33 

Spring  Operations. — It  was  decided  to  select  a  large 
tumulus  and  examine  as  much  of  it  as  possible.  This  struc- 
ture adjoined  a  pyramid  or  "temple  mound"  and  both 
seemed  to  occupy  a  central  position  in  ancient  Cahokia 
times. 

There  was  originally  a  deep  depression  between  Mounds 
33  and  34,  so  the  Rameys  informed  me,  which  had  been 
filled  in  by  dragging  the  earth  from  the  summit  of  the 
mound  down  the  steep  slopes  into  this  depression.  The 
mound  was  conical  originally,  and  according  to  all  wit- 
nesses probably  15  feet  higher  than  at  the  time  of  our 
exploration.  This  would  give  it  a  height  of  38  feet.  The 
adjoining  mound  to  the  west,  No.  32,  is  a  temple  or  pyra- 
mid structure  with  flattened  summit,  and  is  so  shown  in 
the  maps  and  old  records.    No.  33  was  supposed  to  be  a 


20  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

burial   structure,  since  it  came  to  a  "point",  and  local 
tradition  is  persistent  in  so  describing  this  tumulus. 

Testing  elsewhere  was  deferred  and  fourteen  men  were 
put  to  work  on  the  north  side  at  the  lowest  slope.  We  began 
at  a  point  which  appeared  to  the  eye  to  be  4  or  5  feet  above 
the  general  surface,  yet  we  had  gone  down  over  7  feet 
before  we  found  the  base  line.  Our  trench  extended  to 
the  south. 

When  Professor  F.  C.  Baker  of  the  University  of  Illinois 
came  to  visit  our  survey,  on  the  3rd  of  April,  we  had  run 
the  trench  30  feet  south  in  the  mound.  The  face  of  the 
trench,  or  south  wall,  was  12  feet  high.  The  width  of  the 
pit  was  27  feet  east  and  west.  A  number  of  marine  shells, 
a  few  bone  awls,  and  the  usual  broken  pottery  and  animal 
bones  were  found.  While  Professor  Baker  was  present  we 
sank  a  number  of  pits  with  the  post  augers  and  brought 
up  bones  from  the  lower  layers  or  bottom.  These  bones 
were  observed  to  be  of  brownish  green  color.  Later,  dur- 
ing the  research  in  this  mound,  the  same  peculiarity  was 
observed,  and  all  bones  below  the  18  foot  level  were  coated 
and  discolored.  Chemical  analysis  will  determine  the 
nature  of  this  action,  which  has  seldom  been  observed  in 
other  mounds.  On  the  7th  of  April  the  trench  wall,  being 
nearly  15  feet  in  height,  became  dangerous  and  the  earth 
caved  in  frequently.  It  was  therefore  sloped  down  by  the 
men  and  four  teams  were  put  to  work  scraping  the  earth 
out  and  depositing  it  on  the  slopes  to  the  north  and  south. 
Teams  and  scrapers  were  continued  at  work  until  about 
the  22nd  of  April  when  we  again  resorted  to  hand  work 
to  complete  the  trench. 

Our  total  area  excavated  was  about  100  feet  north  and 
south,  and  35  feet  east  and  west.  Some  area  was  lost  since 
it  became  necessary  to  slope  the  walls  (23  feet  high)  to 
prevent  injury-  to  our  men.  East  and  west,  on  top,  the 
opening  was  about  45  feet — the  base  line  narrower,  as 
stated.  In  text  Fig.  9,  Part  II,  is  shown  a  cross  section 
made  by  Dr.  Leighton.  The  scale  indicates  the  thickness 
of  the  strata. 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated         21 

For  some  two  weeks  the  men  dug  until  the  base  line 
was  exposed.  On  the  west  side  of  the  trench  opposite 
stakes  no  to  130  were  a  number  of  post  holes  3  to  5 
inches  in  diameter.  The  posts  >  had  decayed  but  traces  of 
wood  remained.  There  had  been  no  fire  at  this  point.  The 
holes  appeared  to  be  part  of  a  large  circular  edifice  or 
wigwam,  and  were  found  at  a  depth  of  about  14  feet  from 
the  summit.    Lying  near  one  of  them  was  a  long  double 


^'^^ 


j,A»\\>Niiuiiuiiiniiiiimi'>'"'**rt"^"       .^ 


9       I 


1rentV\         -^ 
cvtatfaVad     ^„^ 


C  . 


''// 


K 


><?>' 


UI1»' 


Fig.  2 — Ground  plan  of  trench  in 
James  Ramey  Mound  showing  cir- 
cles, altars,  etc.  A,  Eleven  inch  spade 
found  on  original  surface  at  base  of 
clay  altar  or  hearth.  B,  Two  well- 
defined  "post  holes,"  10  feet  below 
surface.  C,  and  D,  Two  well-defined 
burnt  platforms,  o,  o,  o,  Altars. 
X,  Oblong  altars. 


pointed  flint  knife  which  is  shown  in  Plate  X,  Fig.  i.  In 
the  center  of  the  cut  was  found  the  circular  trench,  and  the 
circular  post  holes,  and  the  altars  or  basins  shown  in  text 
figures  2  and  3.  These  lay  upon  the  base  line  about  23 
feet  from  the  summit. 

Nothing  just  like  these  circles  and  basins  have  been 

previously  found  in  mounds  so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware. 

I  That  is,  there  have  been  more  perfect  altars,  and  post 


22 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 


holes  arranged  in  circular  form  but  not  all  of  them  in  one 
place.  PL  XV,  Fig.  i  shows  the  excavation,  the  circles 
being  in  the  foreground;  PI.  XV,  Fig.  3  the  two  circles 
and  depressions  in  the  distance;  and  PI.  XIV,  Fig.  2  a 
close  view  of  the  depressions  or  altars  and  the  two  circles. 
As  the  holes  would  not  show  clearly  in  a  negative,  corn 
stalk  stubs  were  inserted  to  bring  into  sharper  relief  the 
holes.  The  men  carefully  hand  troweled  the  entire  space 
for  a  distance  of  25  feet.  In  the  center  were  two  burnt 
basins  or  depressions  which  were  filled  with  ashes. 

Mr.  Cowen  has  called  them  altars  in  his  drawing,  and 
they  may  be  such.  They  vary  from  17  to  26  inches  in 
diameter  and  the  depressions  were  four  to  seven  inches 
in  depth.  They  were  not  burned  hard  as  are  the  Ohio 
altars.    The  one  south  of  the  circle  contained  nothing. 

North  of  the  circle  were 
two  shown  near  the  top 
in  Fig.  2,  and  these  were 
of  different  form,  rather 
shallow,  and  three- 
fourths  circular.  Instead 
of  the  circle  being  com- 
plete, the  depression  in 
one  was  extended  to  the 
east  and  in  the  other  to 
the  north.  When  uncov- 
ered, they  were  not  un- 
like crude  pans  in  ap- 
pearance, the  handles 
being  rather  short  and 
the  cavity  in  them  not 
as  deep  as  in  the  main 
body  of  the  depression. 
The  trench  was  about 
3  inches  wide  and  20  feet 
in  diameter.  It  was  nearly  a  true  circle  (Text  Fig.  3).  To 
form  it  the  Indians  dug  out  the  earth  to  a  depth  of  several 
inches  and  then  filled  it  with  dark  soil  so  that  the  contrast 
was  unmistakable.    There  was  nothing  in  this  trench — 


Fig.  3. 


-Plan  of  circular  trench,  altars,  etc., 
in  James  Ramey  Mound. 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated        23 

not  even  ashes  or  charcoal.  From  the  center  of  the  sun 
symbol  and  extending  south  was  a  circle  of  post  holes  2 
to  3  inches  in  diameter.  Probably  saplings  had  been  in- 
serted and  then  the  primitive  wigwam  burned,  as  there 
were  great  quantities  of  charred  stubs  and  charcoal.  In 
the  center  of  this  wigwam  circle  was  a  burnt  basin  and  to 
the  north-west  lay  another.  Ashes  from  these  two  depres- 
sions were  taken  by  Mr.  Alfred  C.  Carr  and  analyzed  for 
Mr.  V.  C.  Turner  of  the  Scullin  Steel  Company  by  Mr. 
L.  Z.  Slater. 

"I  enclose  herewith  complete  qualitative  and  quantitative 
analysis  of  the  samples  you  gave  me.  You  will  note  there  is  a  large 
quantity  of  sihca.  We  could  not  account  for  this  until  the  specimens 
were  examined  under  a  microscope  and  then  it  was  found  that  small 
quantities  of  clay  or  sand  had  been  washed  down  into  and  between 
the  fibres  of  the  specimens.  It  was  impossible  to  take  these  off  and 
therefore  we  have  assumed  that  the  silica  was  the  particles  which 
adhered  to  the  fibre,  together  with  part  of  the  iron  and  alumina. 
The  phosphoric  acid,  calcium  carbonate,  and  magnesium  carbonate, 
together  with  some  of  the  alumina  led  us  to  assume  that  specimen 
must  have  been  bone  at  one  time,  at  least  it  could  not  have  been 
wood-ash  or  charcoal. 

"There  was  also  another  interesting  discovery  and  that  is  that 
under  fire  test  there  is  a  trace  of  lithium.  This  leads  us  to  believe 
that  there  was  tobacco  present  among  the  bones  and  clay,  as  this 
lithium  is  always  present  in  tobacco  and  it  is  hardly  possible  that 
it  would  be  in  any  other  substance  that  was  placed  in  the  receptacle 
where  the  samples  were  found." 

V.  C.  Turner 

"Following  is  the  analysis  of  sample  taken  from  James  Ramey 
Mound: — 

Silica    (Si) 62.10 

Iron  and  alumina  (Ir  &  Al) 25.15 

mostly  oil  203 

Phosphoric   acid    (P205) 49 

Calcium  carbonate   (CaCOg) 10-55 

Magnesium   carbonate    (MgCOg) 1.66 


99.95 
Fire  test  shows  trace  of  Lithium." 

L.  Z.  Slater 


24  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

Through  an  area  of  25  feet,  having  as  a  center  the 
altars,  was  a  floor  not  very  hard  burnt,  and  yet  beyond 
question  a  level  surface  on  which  fires  had  been  built. 

Sections  of  gas  pipe  were  screwed  together  and  with 
these  the  men  were  able  to  test  to  a  depth  of  15  or  20  feet 
with  the  augers.  They  thoroly  tested  the  mound  to  the 
east  and  south  of  these  circles.  It  was  then  thought  that 
possibly  there  might  be  burials  in  the  structure  and  that 
the  altars  and  sun  symbols  occupied  the  center  portion  of 
the  mound  area.  However,  no  burials  could  be  discovered. 

The  various  artifacts  found  during  the  course  of  ex- 
ploration were  kept  in  cigar  boxes  according  to  the  levels 
at  which  they  occurred.  There  was  no  particular  differ- 
ence in  material  to  be  noted  except,  possibly,  the  best 
pottery — that  is  the  red  ware  and  the  sherds  indicating 
thin,  well  made  vessels — was  found  from  15  to  20  feet 
below  the  surface.  Near  the  bottom  there  appeared  to  be 
more  village  site  material,  and  at  about  10  feet  from  the 
summit  the  preponderance  of  fragments  indicating  ordi- 
nary cooking  vessels.  Types  of  pottery  fragments  are 
shown  on  Plates  V  and  VI . 

Numerous  photographs  were  taken  at  various  stages 
of  the  work.  About  the  ist  of  May  the  walls  were  thrown 
in,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  owners  the  mound  was 
abandoned  until  fall.  When  we  left,  the  excavation  had 
the  appearance  of  a  crater  about  100  feet  in  length,  60 
feet  in  width,  and  12  feet  deep  in  the  center. 

September-October  Operations. — On  arrival  at  the 
James  Ramey  Mound  in  the  fall  of  1922,  altho  but 
four  months  had  elapsed  since  the  abandonment  of  the 
work  in  the  spring,  we  noted  that  vegetation  had  sprung  up 
in  the  depression.  Visitors  had  attempted  to  dig,  but  for- 
tunately we  had  left  the  mound  in  such  shape  that  they 
could  do  no  damage. 

It  was  decided  to  work  toward  the  west  and  extend  the 
trench  in  that  direction.  Text  figure  11  presents  the  total 
work  done  on  the  mound.  When  we  completed  operations 
the  latter  part  of  October,  the  total  area  excavated  was  120 
feet  north  and  south  and  about  55  feet  east  and  west.   As 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated         25 

the  Temple  Mound,  No.  32,  adjoined  this  structure,  a  deep 
pit  was  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  that  mound.  The  pit  was 
about  25  feet  from  the  western  edge  of  our  trench  and  was 
14x8  feet  in  diameter  at  the  bottom.  This  is  shown  in 
Fig.  2.  While  the  teams  lowered  the  mound  to  the  bottom, 
the  men  sank  the  pit  mentioned,  and  found  the  base  line 
down  about  17  feet.  It  was  not  thought  necessary  to  exca- 
vate the  space  between  the  west  wall  of  No.  33  and  this  pit, 
altho  the  augers  were  put  down  at  many  points.  The 
usual  village  site  debris  extended  clear  to  the  bottom,  but 
on  the  base  line  was  a  very  heavy  deposit  of  dark  soil  and 
ashes  a  few  inches  in  thickness  and  here  we  observed  much 
more  village  site  material  than  in  the  other  mound.  It 
would  appear  that  the  Temple  Mound  was  erected  over  a 
site  occupied  by  a  wigwam,  for  the  mound  was  built 
directly  on  this  part  of  the  village  site  and  none  of  the 
refuse  had  been  cleaned  up.  Some  thirty  7-inch  auger  holes 
were  put  to  the  bottom  of  No.  32,  and  decayed  bones,  burnt 
earth,  etc.,  were  found  at  several  points.  It  might  be  ad- 
visable to  trench  this  mound  at  some  future  time. 

On  October  12th  but  one  team  was  retained  and  a 
party  of  sixteen  men  dug  out  the  remainder  of  Mound  33  by 
hand.  Another  of  these  burnt  basins  was  found  near  stake 
130.  This  was  about  20  inches  in  diameter  and  about  5 
or  6  inches  deep  and  was  filled  with  charcoal.  The  west 
side  of  our  trench,  being  somewhat  beyond  the  center  of 
the  mound,  was  not  over  19  feet  in  height.  Stratification 
was  not  as  well  marked  as  observed  last  spring.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  gumbo  in  the  west  wall  and  it  was  not 
necessary  to  slope  the  bank  very  much.  A  thin  layer  of 
pure  sand  about  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  which  we  had 
traced  continuously  from  the  north  side  of  the  old  trench, 
extended  in  the  mound  but  seemed  to  disappear  a  little 
south  of  the  center. 

The  large  post  holes  observed  last  spring  in  the  west 
side  of  our  trench  did  not  continue  regularly.  Several 
more  were  observed  but  there  was  no  special  regularity 
and  we  therefore  concluded  that  they  did  not  represent  a 
circular  dwelling. 


26  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

During  the  course  of  sinking  the  trench,  part  of  a 
human  femur  some  6  inches  in  length,  a  vertebra,  and  two 
teeth  were  found,  but  there  were  no  burials.  Near  stake 
120,  at  a  depth  of  17  feet,  was  found  a  large  flint  spade 
about  a  foot  in  length.  This  is  shown  in  Fig.  5,  on  Plate  X. 
Nothing  very  important  was  found  during  the  course  of 
exploration  save  that  a  heavy  layer  of  charcoal,  in  which 
was  bark,  extended  to  the  south  and  south-west  between 
stakes  130  and  140.  When  we  ceased  operations  this  layer 
continued  in  the  walls,  but  as  we  had  already  spent  a 
great  deal  of  money  on  this  mound  the  pit  was  not  en- 
larged. 

There  was  an  even,  burnt  floor,  and  covered  by  a  thin 
layer  of  white  ash  and  above  that  large  pieces  of  charcoal 
and  charred  wood.  We  estimated  this  layer  to  be  some  3 
feet  above  the  base  of  the  mound.  At  several  points  on  the 
burnt  floor  were  small,  flat  stones,  irregularly  shaped  and 
apparently  limestone,  which  had  been  subjected  to  heat. 
There  were  also  many  calcareous  clay  concretions.  This 
platform  or  burnt  floor  with  accompanying  ashes  and 
charcoal,  we  hand  trowelled  for  a  distance  of  nearly  20 
feet.  It  still  continued  in  the  wall  of  our  trench  toward 
the  southwest  when  we  ceased  work. 

Conclusions  on  James  Ramey  Mound. — The  circles 
have  been  called  sun  symbols,  tho  they  may  not  be 
such,  but  that  is  our  opinion.  What  led  the  Indians  to  con- 
struct such  a  mound,  we  do  not  know.  It  is  often  difficult 
for  us  to  appreciate  the  aboriginal  point  of  view.  That 
certain  ceremonies  were  here  enacted  we  may  believe,  but 
the  nature  of  these  still  remains  a  mystery. 

A  few  notable  objects  found  in  the  James  Ramey 
Mound  are  shown  on  the  plates.  Two  clay  discs  on  PI. 
XI,  Figs  2,  4.  Peculiar  pottery  designs  on  PI.  VII,  Figs. 
8,  9.  Two  bird  head  effigies  on  same  plate.  Figs.  5,  6.  Two 
good  bone  awls  on  PL  IX,  Figs.  3,  7.  A  peculiarly  cut  foot 
bone  of  wapiti  or  American  elk  is  shown  in  Fig.  12,  on  PL 
IX.  A  very  finely-cut  and  decorated  gorget  shell  of  the 
spike  river  mussel  (Elliptio  dilatatus),  with  evenly 
notched  edges,  probably  used  as  a  nose  or  ear  ornament, 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated        27 

is  shown  in  Fig.  3,  on  PL  VI I.  It  was  found  at  a  depth  of 
20  feet,  near  stake  no.  Broken  projectile  points  and  arrow 
heads  are  figured  at  i,  6-8,  11,  on  PI.  XII.  Marine  mol- 
lusks,  beads,  and  ornaments  are  shown  on  PL  VIII.  Most 
of  the  Cahokia  beads  are  flat  and  not  cyUndricaL 

The  Jondro  Mound,  No.  83 

This  was  not  put  on  the  map  which  we  inserted  in  our 
previous  report  (VoL  19,  No.  35,  University  of  IlHnois 
pubUcations).  In  fact,  Patrick,  Van  Court,  and  the  other 
surveyors  seem  to  have  left  out  a  number  of  small  mounds. 
It  lies  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  Monks,  and  is  al- 
most circular,  being  140  ft.  x  130  ft.  A  diagram  is  shown  of 
it  in  Text  Fig.  4.   The  surface  is  rather  irregular  and  we 

—  Bu.cV   shot 


Fig.  4 — Diagram  of  Tusant  Jondro  Mound.    Sec.  34.,  Twp.  Edgemont,  St. 

Clair  Co.    Position  of  burials   is  indicated,  the  first  burial  being  75  feet 

from  north  edge  of  mound. 

supposed  originally  the  mound  was  conical  and  that  it 
had  been  worked  down  during  cultivation  in  the  field,  but 
the  owner,  Mr.  Tusant  Jondro,  informs  us  that  while  his 
father  had  a  garden  on  one  side  and  he  set  out  an  orchard, 
the  eastern  half  had  never  been  cultivated.  Therefore  the 
structure,  which  now  varies  from  four  to  six  feet  in  eleva- 
tion, could  not  have  been  much  higher  than  at  present. 
It  might  have  served  a  double  purpose,  that  is,  for  burials 
and  later  as  an  elevation  on  which  wigwams  were  set. 

Mr.  Wm.  J.  Seever  had  charge  of  the  work,  and  spent 
some  time  running  a  trench  north  and  south  through  the 
entire  mound,  and  another  trench  from  the  south  end  of 
the  mound,  northwest  for  20  feet.  He  found  twenty-four 
burials,  and  enough  detached  burials,  or  rather  bodies  so 
decayed  that  only  a  portion  of  skeletons  were  observed,  to 
account  for  sixteen  or  seventeen  more.  In  the  north  half  of 
the  mound  there  are  probably  many  more  burials.  Mr. 
Jondro  states  that  his  father  uncovered  burials  during  the 


28 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 


operations  incident  to  tree  planting  or  gardening.  The  cross 
section  in  Fig.  4  shows  that  at  the  north  end  there  was  an 
original  mound  4  feet  high,  composed  of  buckshot  gumbo. 
This  was  extremely  hard  digging,  and  nothing  was  found 


W 

-IHO  feet- 


f 


>^.*>^ 


W2 

V 

I 

V 


fr»sm«nt4  of  4 
ftttery  rfutl  found 
it  the  ?im4  of  This 


J 


East«rn%o^' 
has  -niier  \,tfn  » 


/ 


/ 


y 


y 


'*'**«»«VTO„,„,«„^.^.»>»»"'" 


,---" 


Fig.  5 — Field  plan  of  the  Jondro  Mound. 

therein.  In  fact,  in  our  excavations,  survey  members  never 
found  burials  or  much  village  site  debris  in  gumbo  soil, 
except  the  Chucallo  Mound  and  this  was  not  all  gumbo. 

The  skeletons  were  headed  in  various  directions,  and 
no  uniformity  as  to  points  of  the  compass  was  observed 
by  the  Indians.  Excepting  one  skeleton  noted  on  the  map, 
no  objects  accompanied  any  of  the  burials  (Text  Fig.  5). 
Not  enough  pottery  fragments  were  found  with  this  burial 
to  enable  restoration.  Every  skeleton  was  badly  decayed ; 
in  many  instances  it  was  impossible  to  remove  even  one- 
third  of  a  femur  or  tibia. 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated        29 

About  200  feet  north  of  the  mound  is  a  sunken  depres- 
sion from  which  earth  and  gumbo  were  taken  for  this 
mound;  a  similar  one  Hes  175  feet  south  of  the  mound. 

Sam  Chucallo  Mound 

This  is  the  last  of  the  several  tumuli  in  the  corporate 
limits  of  East  St.  Louis  and  is  not  on  the  original  map. 
It  lies  on  the  edge  of  a  deep  depression  where  the  earth  has 
been  removed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  to  make  a 
filling.  Cahokia  Creek  is  100  yards  to  the  north.  The  dis- 
tance from  Sam's  Mound  to  Monks  Mound  is  something 
over  3  miles.  The  Pennsylvania  excavation  removed  the 
western  edge  of  the  mound,  up  to  where  it  was  about  4 
feet  in  height.  The  owner  did  not  wish  a  large  group  of 
men  to  be  put  to  work  so  he  and  another  man  were  em- 
ployed to  dig  a  trench  some  70  feet  in  length,  10  feet  deep, 
and  8  feet  in  width  (March-April,  1922).  The  mound  was 
of  very  heavy  gumbo,  and  unpromising.  Very  little  village 
site  material  occurred  save  now  and  then  a  hammer  stone 
and  animal  bones.  A  large  flint  spade  was  taken  from  the 
7  foot  level,  somewhat  east  of  the  center  of  the  mound. 
At  the  9  foot  level,  near  the  center,  Sam  discovered  a  skele- 
ton surrounded  by  a  dome  shaped  mass  of  very  black 
gumbo.  The  soil  on  either  side  and  above  this  mass  was 
somewhat  lighter.  Dr.  M.  M.  Leighton  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois  was  present  when  part  of  this  skeleton 
was  uncovered.  After  Dr.  Leighton  departed,  the  work- 
men uncovered  7  other  skeletons  lying  on  a  little  burnt 
bench  about  a  foot  above  the  bottom  of  the  mound,  or  9 
feet  from  the  surface.  This  find  was  made  just  west  of  the 
skeleton  mentioned.  Above  the  burials  one  could  clearly 
observe  a  small  mound  of  tough  gumbo  perhaps  4  feet  in 
height.  Apparently  the  burials  were  covered  by  this,  and 
the  rest  of  the  mound  added  afterwards.  A  brick  building 
(the  residence  of  the  owner)  to  the  south  somewhat  dis- 
turbed the  southern  edge  of  the  mound.  In  making  the 
street  a  little  of  the  east  edge  was  removed,  and  the  trolley 
tracks  are  flanked  by  a  low  bank  on  the  north  side  of  the 
mound.    It  is,  therefore,  difl^cult  to  give  accurate  meas- 


30  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

urements  but  we  judge  the  mound  to  have  been  about  150 
by  120  feet  in  diameter. 

The  seven  skeletons  referred  to  were  bunched  burials,  all 
crushed  by  the  heavy  gumbo  and  many  of  the  bones  pow- 
dered so  that  they  appeared  like  sawdust.  This  form  of 
decay  had  not  previously  been  observed,  and  several  boxes 
full  of  disintegrated  bones  were  taken  for  preservation. 
There  were  no  objects  with  the  burials.  Undermining  the 
bank  to  the  south  brought  into  view  the  feet  of  two  more 
skeletons — better  preserved  and  not  bunched  burials. 
Altho  badly  broken,  as  stated,  the  bones  seemed  unusually 
heavy.  However,  the  owner  did  not  wish  explorations  con- 
tinued, and  we  were  compelled  to  suspend  work.  We  hope 
to  complete  work  on  this  mound  at  some  future  time. 

Pittsburg  Lake  Cemetery 

On  the  shores  of  Pittsburg  Lake,  about  6  miles  south- 
east of  Cahokia,  a  large  cemetery  was  discovered  when  a 
new  automobile  road,  known  as  the  Louisiana  Boulevard, 
was  constructed  a  few  years  ago.  Mr.  H.  Braun  was  pres- 
ent when  the  teams  and  scrapers  at  work  on  the  boulevard 
uncovered  the  remains.  He  states  there  were  30  or  40 
burials  and  he  secured  some  51  pottery  vessels. 

To  ascertain  whether  this  cemetery  was  of  the  Cahokia 
culture,  we  visited  the  site,  paid  the  owner  for  two  acres 
of  wheat  and  began  testing.  We  found  a  total  of  13  skele- 
tons in  a  space  some  20  by  25  feet.  With  them  were  11 
pottery  vessels,  6  of  which  were  whole.  The  cemetery  was 
thoroly  trenched  by  us  for  several  days,  6  workmen  be- 
ing employed,  but  we  could  discover  no  other  interments. 

The  skeletons  (save  one)  were  badly  decayed,  due  to 
the  character  of  the  soil,  and  most  of  them  were  near  the 
surface.  Our  field  notes  are  as  follows : 

Skeleton  38.  Head  south.   Extended.   Depth  3  ft. 

Skeleton  39.  Bowl,  set  with  rim  upwards. 

Skeleton  40.  Two  pots.  A  detached  skull.  3  awls  were  laid 
across  a  wide  dish.  Head  south.  Dish  against  the  jar  2  inches  from 
jar.  One  foot  from  surface.  Well  preserved.  Body  extended  on 
back.  Bone  arrow  point  on  face. 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated        31 

Skeleton  40.  Depth  3  ft.    Head  east,  and  badly  crushed. 

Skeleton  41.  Skeleton  south.  Decayed  and  broken,  24  ins.  from 
surface. 

Skeleton  42.  Red  pot  with  decayed  skeleton.  Pot  in  dish.  Effigy 
head  broken  off.     Some  red  paint.   20  in.  down. 

Skeleton  43.  Small  pot  by  head  of  a  child.  Very  badly  decayed. 
18  in.  down. 

Skeleton  44.  Young  person,  2  pots.  Head  north.  Badly  decayed. 
Down  18  in. 

Skeleton  46.  5  feet  deep.  Legs  drawn  up.   2  photos.  No  objects. 

In  several  instances,  near  the  head  of  the  body  was  a 
large  flat  stone  set  in  the  grave.  There  were  several  of 
these,  and  they  were  smaller  than  the  stone  slabs  forming 
the  well  known  box  graves  of  the  middle  South.  Mr. 
Braun  stated  that  this  peculiarity  was  observed  in  many 
of  the  burials  destroyed  by  the  road  construction  crew.  All 
pottery  found  was  typical  of  the  middle  South,  and  did 
not  exhibit  any  of  the  Cahokia  decorations.  A  bone  awl 
found  with  skeleton  No.  39  is  figured  at  4  on  PI.  IX. 

Mounds  14  and  84 

Except  the  Kunnemann  Mound,  none  lying  north  of  Caho- 
kia Creek  had  been  examined  by  us.  Therefore,  in  April, 
we  trenched  two  of  them. 

Number  14. — The  field  notes  state,  "About  one-third 
mile  north  of  Monks  is  a  mound  lying  between  old  Ca- 
hokia and  the  present  drainage  canal.  Years  ago  a  road 
through  the  swamp  passed  along  the  crest  of  this  structure. 
There  is  a  sunken  depression  in  the  center  of  this  mound 
from  end  to  end.  Dimensions,  north  and  south  180  feet, 
east  and  west  no  feet.  About  5  feet  high.  Composed  of 
heavy  gumbo.  Very  hard  digging.  Put  8  men  to  work. 
Sunk  10  pits  each  4  feet  deep;  also  used  post  augers  for 
3^  feet.  A  few  pieces  of  stone,  no  pottery;  some  broken 
bones." 

Mackie  Mound,  No.  84. — This  is  about  ij4  miles  west 
of  Monks  Mound  and  is  on  the  bank  of  old  Cahokia 
Creek.  It  is  covered  by  a  heavy  oak  grove,  has  never 
been  plowed,  and  is  about  130  feet  north  and  south  and  10 
feet  high.  It  is  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  a  swamp  and 


32  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

there  is  a  long  low  platform,  or  apron,  extending  about  150 
feet  to  the  east.  This  platform  varies  from  3  to  5  feet  high. 
A  trench  was  extended  a  distance  of  about  30  feet  in  the 
mound  down  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  base  line,  then  the 
post  augers  brought  into  service.  Numbers  of  pits  were 
sunk  3  or  4  feet  in  depth.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
scales  of  flint  or  chert  and  one  pottery  fragment,  absolutely 
nothing  was  found.  The  mound  was  composed  of  the 
hardest  kind  of  buckshot  gumbo,  with  no  sign  of  stratifi- 
cation. It  is  clear  that  no  village  existed  at  the  point  from 
whence  the  earth  was  taken  to  build  this  mound,  as  there 
are  no  broken  artifacts  to  be  observed  in  the  soil. 

Sullivan's  Mounds 
Persons  frequently  called  our  attention  to  two  mounds 
on  Signal  Hill.  These  command  a  view  of  the  American 
Bottoms  and  in  an  air  line  are  some  four  miles  south  of 
the  largest  tumulus — Monks.  We  secured  permission  to 
excavate  from  Judge  J.  D.  Sullivan,  both  structures  being 
in  his  yard.  The  largest  one  when  viewed  and  measured 
from  its  base,  is  a  low  conical  mound,  10  feet  in  height, 
some  90  feet  in  diameter,  nearly  circular  at  the  base  line, 
very  symmetrical  in  the  contour  line,  not  differing,  when 
viewed  from  the  slope  on  which  it  is  erected,  from  similar 
ones  in  the  Cahokia  Mound  region  (Text  Fig.  6).  Ex- 
cavations of  a  trench  some  6  feet  wide  through  the  east  and 
west  axis,  carried  down  to  and  below  its  base,  revealed, 
however,  a  very  unusual  mound  construction  or  building. 
Instead  of  beginning  upon  the  original  surface  and  up- 
building from  there,  as  they  usually  did,  the  builders  of 
this  tumulus  reversed  the  procedure,  by  excavating  a  bowl- 
like depression  apparently  the  diameter  or  size  of  the 
structure  afterwards  to  be  erected.  This  excavation,  rather 
uneven  on  the  floor  line,  a  few  inches  in  depth  at  its  outer 
edges,  increasing  in  depth  until  at  or  near  the  center,  it 
attained  a  maximum  depth  of  18  inches.  Into  this  bowl- 
like depression,  numerous  oval  and  circular  pits  were  dug, 
in  depth  from  2  or  3  to  18  inches;  in  diameter  from  12 
inches,  to  the  largest  encountered,  of  5  feet  2  inches.  Nine 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated        33 

of  these  pits  were  located  in  the  floor  of  the  trench  (with 
traces  of  others  on  outer  sides  of  the  trench)  ;  these  were 
thoroly  "cleaned  out",  and  accompanied  clearly  definite 
strata  of  white  or  gray  ashes,  mixed  with  charcoal,  in  very 
dark  and  loose  loamy  soil,  numerous  pieces  of  broken  pot- 
tery or  earthenware,  some  animal  and  bird  bones,  quanti- 
ties of  small  irregular  broken  stones  showing  discoloration 
from  heat,  one  battered  and  broken  grooved  granite  axe, 
several  defective  celts,  hammer  stones,  and  unio  shells 
mingled  with  the  dark  colored  earth  of  the  pits. 

From  one  pit  were  taken  two  highly  specialized  bone 
implements  some  4  in.  long  (PI.  IX,  Figs.  5,  6).    From 


Fig.  6 — Mound  on  bluffs  east  of  East  St.  Louis,  on  Judge 
Sullivan's  land.    Excavated  Oct.  5,  6,  9,  10,  1922. 

another,  two  perforated  bone  beads,  and  from  another  a 
fragment  of  quartz  crystal,  and  a  small  specimen  of  worked 
hematite. 

Apparently,  the  entire  floor  or  bowl-like  depression  of 
this  structure  contains  similar  pits  or  depressions,  since 
edges  of  others  were  noted  in  the  trench. 

The  loess  formation,  of  which  these  uplands  largely 
consist,  being  of  an  almost  bright  yellow  color,  the  least 
discoloration  or  excavation  therein,  and  subsequent  filling 
in  of  foreign  material  is  instantly  and  plainly  discernable 
and  easily  followed. 

Seemingly  these  pits  had  been  used  either  as  hearth,  or 
for  purposes  of  cremation.   Then  the  bowl-like  depression 


34  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

was  filled  in  with  a  dark  soil  or  earth  to  the  original  sur- 
face and  on  top  of  this  the  mound  was  erected,  the  latter 
being  a  mixture  of  light  and  dark  colored  earths. 

Directly  east  of  this  mound  some  250  feet  was  a 
smaller  tumulus  removed  some  years  since  during  the  erec- 
tion of  a  residence.  Numerous  pottery  fragments  were 
taken  therefrom,  and  an  entire  pot  or  vase ;  it  could  not  be 
ascertained  if  there  were  any  human  remains. 

The  Kruger  Bone  Bank 

At  the  point  marked  burial  and  village  site  on  the  map 
near  the  lower  left  hand  corner,  is  a  long  low  ridge  flank- 
ing a  depression  in  which,  in  former  times,  there  was  con- 
siderable water.  Old  residents  state  that  before  the  present 
drainage  system  was  inaugurated,  there  were  many  fish  in 
this  depression,  and  that  it  was  connected  with  the  pond 
to  the  east. 

Along  the  sandy  ridge  burials  had  been  made  by  In- 
dians, and  both  Mr.  Kruger  and  the  owner  who  preceded 
him  had  dug  up  skeletons.  He  permitted  excavations  and 
about  a  dozen  men  sank  test  pits  here  for  two  days.  None 
of  the  burials  were  more  than  3  feet  in  depth,  and  most 
of  them  within  20  inches  of  the  surface.  There  were  frag- 
mentary skeletons  indicating  disturbances.  Doctor  James 
Terry  of  Washington  University  took  one  or  two  of  the 
best  ones  to  the  medical  school  for  observation.  The  rest 
were  left  in  the  ground.  We  did  not  excavate  the  entire 
area  as  the  burials  were  accompanied  by  no  objects  and  did 
not  appear  to  be  of  special  importance.  Some  16  bodies 
were  found. 

It  is  well  to  remark  in  passing  that  these  scattered  bur- 
ials and  little  cemeteries  are  found  throughout  the  entire 
Cahokia  area. 

The  Harding  Mound,  No.  66 

This  is  one  of  the  finest  mounds  of  the  entire  group.  It 
is  about  550  feet  in  length,  and  at  the  base  line  about  125 
feet  north  and  south.  It  stands  out  very  prominently,  and 
appears  to  the  eye  at  least  40  feet  in  height,  altho  it  may 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated         35 

be  less.  At  several  points  pits  were  dug  by  hand  to  a  depth 
of  12  to  17  feet.  In  the  bottoms  of  these  pits  the  augers 
were  put  down  to  a  depth  of  22  feet.  That  is  as  far  as  it 
is  possible  to  test  with  the  augers.  Seven  inch  cores  were 
obtained  from  these  testings,  and  studied.  The  mound 
appears  to  be  stratified,  but  there  was  little  village  site 
debris  to  be  found  at  the  different  levels. 

Our  auger  testing  was  rather  unsatisfactory,  and  we 
were  not  able  to  determine  whether  the  mound  contained 
interments.  On  a  structure  so  long  and  narrow,  it  does 
not  seem  possible  that  wigwams  would  be  placed.  In  the 
event  of  its  use  for  house  sites,  the  dwellings  would  be  of 
restricted  diameter,  and  placed  in  a  long  row.  Such  ar- 
rangement is  unusual  in  Indian  villages. 

This  mound  has  never  been  cultivated  and  is  well  pre- 
served. Explorations  by  means  of  tunnels  have  been  sug- 
gested. Such  a  procedure  would  not  injure  the  contour, 
and  its  character  could  thus  be  determined  if  a  tunnel 
were  extended  through  the  long  diameter,  and  in  addition 
several  cross  section  tunnels  at  various  points.  This 
structure  is  one  of  the  same  form  as  the  Powell  Mound, 
but  of  shorter  base.  Like  the  Powell  Mound  its  long  axis 
lies  east  and  west,  and  that  similarity  has  given  rise  to 
various  conjectures  on  the  part  of  observers. 

Mrs.  Tippetts'  Mound,  No.  61 

This  is  an  oval  mound  located  between  the  two  ponds 
on  land  owned  by  Mrs.  William  Tippetts.  Externally  it 
is  rather  promising,  and  as  it  is  shaped  not  unlike  altar 
mounds  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  the  survey  decided  to  test  it. 
Much  to  our  surprise  we  found  it  composed  of  exceedingly 
j  heavy,  black  gumbo.  Two  pits  were  sunk  and  by  means 
of  the  augers  we  tested  to  the  base,  a  distance  of  20  feet. 
Very  little  in  the  way  of  material  was  encountered.  The 
mound  appeared  to  be  unstratified.  The  ground  was  so 
hard  it  required  the  united  efforts  of  six  strong  workmen 
to  put  down  six  auger    holes    in    three  days  time.    The 


36  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

structure  is  placed  on  the  "reserved  list"  for  future  explor- 
ation. Gumbo  can  be  more  easily  excavated  in  February 
or  March,  as  after  winter  rains  and  snow  it  is  soft. 

The  Mitchell  Mounds 
Several  observers,  who  have  visited  the  Cahokia  region 
in  past  years,  have  included  the  group  of  mounds  at 
Mitchell  Station  under  the  general  descriptions  applying 
to  Cahokia.  Whether  these  mounds  are  culturely  a  part  of 
Cahokia  itself  can  be  determined  by  exploration.  Since 
copper  and  other  forms  similar  to  finds  made  in  the  Ohio 
mounds  and  along  the  Illinois  river  were  discovered  at  the 
time  the  Chicago  and  Alton  Railroad  cut  through  one  of 
the  mounds  (about  1 871),  it  is  suggested  that  the  Mitch- 
ell group  of  mounds  may  have  been  erected  by  another 
tribe.  In  the  Illinois  valley  itself  platform  or  monitor 
pipes,  copper  ear  bobs,  and  copper  hatchets  and  plates  have 
been  found,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river  is  not  more 
than  thirty-five  miles  from  the  Cahokia  group.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  these  observations  are  based  on  spec- 
imens in  private  or  public  collections  secured  during  the 
course  of  superficial  explorations  on  the  part  of  workers 
who  left  us  neither  field  notes  nor  photographs. 

Owners  of  the  Mitchell  mounds  have  given  consent  for 
exploration  of  one  or  two  of  the  structures  next  March,  and 
the  survey  looks  forward  with  anticipation  to  this  work. 
After  its  completion  we  will  be  able  to  determine  the  rela- 
tionship of  the  builders  of  the  Mitchell  group  to  those  of 
Cahokia. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Snyder  of  Virginia,  Illinois,  in  his  various 
papers  (see  bibliography)  has  given  us  some  light  on  pre- 
historic Indian  occupation  of  the  State.  Granting  full 
credit  to  Dr.  Snyder  and  all  others,  one  is  justified  in  the 
assertion  that  we  know  little  concerning  aboriginal  inhab- 
itants of  the  great  State.  Inspection  of  the  many  collec- 
tions seems  to  indicate  that  we  have  at  least  three,  and 
possibly  four,  tribes  or  cultures  of  stone  age  times,  yet 
nothing  definite  can  be  ascertained  until  thoro  explora- 
tions and  studies  are  undertaken.     Beyond  question  Illi- 


Description  of  the  Mounds  Investigated        37 

nois  offers  one  of  the  most  attractive  fields  in  the  United 
States  for  research  work.  Its  primitive  people  may  have 
been  affected  by  contact  with,  or  knowledge  of,  the  Plains 
Tribes.  The  relationship  between  bands  of  Indians  living 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  state  along  the  lake  to  those  of 
the  Illinois  valley;  whether  the  Indians  living  along  the 
Wabash  are  of  the  same  stock  as  those  from  the  Illinois 
River  region,  and  the  lake  front ;  or  the  cultural  status  of 
those  occupying  the  extreme  southern  portion  of  Illinois — 
all  these  and  many  other  questions  are  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance and  one  is  free  to  affirm  that  our  present  reliable 
information  is  so  meager  that  we  are  unable  to  formulate 
even  preliminary  observations. 

The  Collinsville-Edgemont  Bluffs 

Flanking  the  east  side  of  the  American  Bottoms  are  the 
high  bluffs  frequently  referred  to.  McAdams,  Patrick, 
and  others  seem  to  have  secured  most  of  their  better  speci- 
men (pipes,  bicaves,  and  long  chipped  objects)  from 
graves,  small  mounds,  or  sites  on  these  promontories.  Lo- 
cal collectors  affirm  that  the  entire  range  of  high-land 
flanking  the  river  from  Alton  to  Cairo  is  one  vast,  ancient 
cemetery.  Mr.  E.  W.  Payne,  whose  agents  have  collected 
extensively  in  that  region,  estimate  that  thousands  of  vari- 
ous implements,  ornaments,  and  utensils  have  here  been 
gathered.  Skeletons  are  plowed  up  every  spring  and  fall.  A 
thoro  investigation  of  the  remains  on  these  bluffs  should 
be  made  at  some  future  time. 


VILLAGE  SITE  OBSERVATIONS 

On  our  large  map  are  several  areas  marked  "Village 
Site."  Readers  should  not  conclude  that  wigwams  existed 
merely  at  those  places.  Such  markings  indicate  that  at 
certain  points  we  dug  pits  and  found  the  indications  of 
occupation  extended  several  feet  into  the  ground.  We  be- 
lieve that  all  the  area  was  occupied  except  a  space  south 
of  the  National  road.  This  is  bounded  on  the  west  by 
tumuli  68  and  70,  on  the  south  by  66  and  65,  on  the  east 
by  64  and  62,  and  on  the  north  by  ^T.  We  did  not  test 
very  extensively  in  this  area  but  where  we  did  so,  little 
was  found. 

The  land  lying  west  of  Sand  Prairie  Road  belongs  to 
George  Merrell,  Esq.,  and  for  nearly  half  a  mile,  until  Mr. 
Recklein's  property  is  reached,  is  leased  by  Mr.  Stolle. 
Throughout  this  land,  from  1500  to  2500  feet  west  of 
Monks  Mound,  we  found  indications  of  a  heavily  popu- 
lated village.  Varying  from  12  inches  to  4  feet  in  depths, 
the  soil  was  disturbed,  and  the  usual  pottery  fragments, 
bones  of  animals,  ashes,  unio  shells,  hammer  stones, 
spalls,  etc.,  were  present.  The  Stolle  land  was  tested  in 
October.  We  then  examined  properties  to  the  south,  owned 
by  Mrs.  Tippetts,  Mr.  Wells,  and  Mr.  Cole.  Beyond 
Stolle's  land,  to  the  west  of  the  Recklein  land,  the  Village 
Site  continued  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  is 
said  to  extend  through  the  property  owned  by  Mrs.  Thom- 
as. She  was  one  of  the  very  few  persons  in  the  Cahokia 
region  who  would  not  permit  us  to  excavate.  Her  work- 
men, however,  said  that  pottery  vessels  and  bones  were 
dug  up  when  they  sank  post  holes.  We  have  proved,  by 
continued  testing,  that  the  village  extended  from  over  a 
third  of  a  mile  northeast  of  Monks  Mound  to  the  edge  of 
Mrs.  Thomas'  land,  all  of  which  parallels  Cahokia  Creek. 
This  is  a  total  extent  of  over  a  mile  and  a  half.  Just  how 
far  north  of  Cahokia  Creek  the  village  existed,  we  do  not 
know,  but  we  presume  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

38 


Village  Site  Observations  39 

The  Wells'-Tippetts'  Village  Site 

The  tests  on  the  Ramey  heirs'  lands,  so  far  as  village 
sites  are  concerned,  were  completed  last  year.  Plates  II, 
IV,  V,  VI,  IX,  and  XI  illustrate  different  artifacts  from 
the  Ramey  Village  Site.  Fig.  6  on  PI.  5  is  decidedly  Algon- 
quin. Numbers  of  specimens  containing  this  decoration 
were  found.  When  our  pottery  collection  is  larger  we  may 
be  able  to  shed  some  light  on  the  mingling  of  forms  and 
designs,  a  few  of  which  do  not  appear  to  be  southern. 

This  fall,  the  survey  did  not  sink  additional  pits,  but 
on  Mrs.  Tippetts'  estate,  south  of  Monks,  and  on  the 
adjoining  property  owned  by  Mr.  Cole,  and  Mr.  Wells, 
much  work  was  done.  Mr.  Allen  had  leased  land  of  Mr. 
Wells  and  he  permitted  us  to  work  extensively  with  8  or 
10  men  on  an  area  lying  100  to  200  yards  south  of  Mound 
51.  Here  the  village  debris  was  as  heavy  as  at  any  point 
on  the  Ramey  lands.  There  were  several  low  mounds 
(74,  75,  and  55).  In  No.  75  much  burnt  clay  was  discov- 
ered, also  lumps  in  which  were  impressions  of  reeds  and 
sticks, — doubtless  the  walls  of  dwellings. 

Stone  celts,  bone  awls,  arrow  points,  and  beads  were 
found  in  the  Wells  site.  Some  of  these  are  figured  on 
Plates  II,  IV,  VII,  IX,  XI,  XII,  and  XVI.  On  PI.  X, 
a  shouldered  hoe  and  two  spades  from  field  southwest  of 
Monks  Mound,  are  figured  (Figs.  2-4). 

The  Stock  Yards  Site 

In  the  Smithsonian  Report  for  1866  (pp.  346-350),  Dr. 
Charles  Rau  presents  the  first  description  of  pottery  from 
the  Cahokia  region.  His  observations  were  quoted  in  our 
preliminary  report^  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

We  visited  lower  Cahokia  Creek,  and  found  it  very 
difficult  to  conduct  field  operations.  In  Rau's  time.  East 
St.  Louis  was  a  small  place,  and  the  stock  yards  not  ex- 
tensive. Today,  the  buildings,  pens,  tracks,  streets,  etc., 
comprising  that  great  industry,  must  cover  at  least  500 
acres.   We  were  able  to  discover  but  one  open  tract,  and 

^Un'wersity  of  Illinois  Bulletin,  Volume  19.  No.  35.  pp.  25-27. 


40  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

that  bordered  Cahokia  Creek,  and  was  at  the  end  of  a  short 
thorofare  called  Bogard  Street,  and  some  300  yards  west 
of  St.  Clair  Avenue.  Here  was  an  acre  and  a  half  of  land 
upon  which  no  buildings  had  been  erected.  The  creek  bank 
is  some  12  or  15  feet  in  height.  The  place  had  been  used 
as  a  city  dump,  and  it  was  necessary  to  remove  debris 
before  original  surface  was  reached.  We  could  not  identify 
the  clay  bank  to  which  Rau  referred,  but  did  find  thick 
pottery,  and  one  or  two  sections  of  bowls  which  ap- 
peared to  be  unfinished.  A  piece  of  pottery  with  peculiar 
design,  resembling  in  outline  a  large  beetle  or  water  bug, 
is  shown  on  PL  XI,  Fig.  3. 

Observations  were  rather  unsatisfactory.  In  1866  the 
creek  water  was  clear ;  there  were  unio  shells  present ;  also 
one  could  walk  along  the  foot  of  the  bank  for  a  consider- 
able distance.  Rau  had  no  trouble  in  locating  the  clay 
deposit  from  which  the  women  secured  material  for  pot- 
tery making.  Much  of  the  creek  bed  is  filled  with  sewage, 
waste,  chemicals  from  the  factories  and  stock  yards,  and 
the  bank  is  now  sloping. 

Probably  at  the  time  of  his  observations  he  was  able 
to  select  the  best  section  for  study.  We  assume  that  this 
was  up  the  creek  from  where  we  worked.  It  is  proposed 
next  year  to  send  two  men  from  Monks  Mound  westward 
along  either  bank  of  Cahokia  Creek,  and  test  all  places  not 
yet  covered  by  buildings.  The  old  bed  east  of  the  corpor- 
ate limits  of  East  St.  Louis  is  now  filled  with  vegetation. 
Probably  as  late  as  1875,  work  could  have  been  satisfac- 
torily carried  on  along  the  creek,  for  a  distance  of  about 
4  miles ;  now  most  traces  of  Indian  occupation  have  been 
obliterated. 

We  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  entire  southern 
bank  of  Cahokia  was  occupied  by  the  ancient  people. 
From  the  fartherest  eastern  extent  of  the  village  site,  down 
Cahokia  Creek  to  the  Stock-yards  site  is  about  six  miles. 

In  last  spring's  report  we  estimated  the  territory  cov- 
ered by  cabins  or  wigwams  to  be  1000  acres.  How  far 
back  from  the  creek,  both  north  and  south,  habitations 


Village  Site  Observations  41 

extended,  we  do  not  know,  but  we  assume  variations  in 
width  due  to  the  configuration  of  the  site,  ponds,  etc.,  in- 
terfering. Actual  testing  proves  above  1,000  acres  of  occu- 
pation. If  the  creek  bank  was  inhabited  through  the  pres- 
ent site  of  East  St.  Louis,  the  total  should  be  given  at  2000 
and  possibly  2500  acres. 

The  extent  of  the  prehistoric  village  located  at  the  great 
group  of  stone  ruins  in  New  Mexico,  known  as  the  Chaco, 
has  not  been  stated.  So  far  as  the  writer's  observations  ex- 
tend, he  neither  knows  of,  nor  has  read  concerning  any  vil- 
lage equal  in  extent  to  that  at  Cahokia.  And  the  more  we 
excavate,  the  more  area  we  include  in  our  estimates. 

Testing  the  Bottoms  of  the  Ponds 
The  presence  of  chipped  objects  and  pottery  fragments 
in  the  muck  in  the  several  ponds  surrounding  the 
Cahokia  Group  gave  rise  to  the  suggestion  that  possibly 
(but  not  probably)  the  Indians  built  houses  on  piles  over 
the  water.  Four  men  were  put  to  work  in  October  testing 
the  bottom  of  two  or  three  of  these  depressions.  A  dredging 
apparatus  similar  to  oyster  tongs  was  made,  and  the  work- 
men lowered  the  tongs  from  a  flat  bottomed  boat,  and  con- 
tinued dredging  for  about  two  days.  Where  the  water  was 
shallow,  they  waded  and  made  use  of  an  ordinary  garden 
rake.  The  result  of  the  test  was  not  satisfactory.  The 
bottom  is  rather  smooth,  not  irregular,  and  slippery.  While 
numbers  of  artifacts  were  brought  up,  the  tongs  slipped 
over  others.  Our  work  was  not  completed  but  we  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  there  is  not  sufficient  material  to  indi- 
cate that  Indians  had  built  dwellings  over  the  water,  and 
furthermore,  in  a  dry  season  such  as  last  Fall,  there  would 
not  be  sufficient  water  to  afford  protection.  Two  of  the 
large  depressions  were  dry,  and  the  survey  was  able  to  test 
them  with  augers  and  shovels.  Little  material  was  secured. 
The  Ramey  brothers  claim  that  when  they  were  boys, 
two  of  these  ponds  contained  water  throughout  the  year, 
were  deeper,  and  such  fish  as  crappie,  bass,  and  buffalo 
were  taken  frequently.   A  more  careful  search,  extending 


42  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

over  a  greater  length  of  time,  might  give  different  results, 
but  at  the  present  writing,  we  are  of  the  opinion  that 
artifacts  were  either  lost  or  thrown  in  the  ponds  by  the 
Indians. 


PREVIOUS  WORK  AND  COLLECTIONS  RELAT- 
ING TO  THE  CAHOKIA  GROUP 

Dr.  Patrick 

Dr.  A.  J.  R.  Patrick,  Belleville,  Illinois,  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  in  Cahokia  work.  The  survey  called  on  his  widow, 
who  is  now  Mrs.  John  Bauman.  She  showed  us  some  field 
notes  written  by  Dr.  Patrick,  in  1877.  November  18,  of 
that  year,  he  visited  Monks  Mound,  and  did  some  explor- 
ing in  the  vicinity.  Again,  on  April  7,  1878,  April  6,  1879, 
and  May  11  and  12,  1879,  Dr.  Patrick  dug  in  numbers  of 
places  along  Cahokia  Creek,  and  in  the  low  mounds.  His 
observations,  for  the  most  part,  were  confined  to  burials, 
within  4  feet  of  the  surface,  since  he  used  a  slender,  steel 
rod,  by  means  of  which  he  sounded  for  bones,  pottery,  or 
stone.  This  method  of  testing  has  been  employed  for  many 
years  by  collectors,  and  others,  and  is  possible  when  soil 
is  free  from  stone.  The  rods  will  not  penetrate  hard  gumbo, 
but  in  the  late  winter,  or  early  spring,  the  rods  penetrate 
easily  to  a  depth  of  4  feet.  One  is  able  to  distinguish  by 
feeling  with  these  rods  stone  from  pottery,  bone  or  decayed 
wood  from  layers  or  sections  of  hard  earth.  The  use  of  the 
rod  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  burial  places,  (where  the  soil 
is  favorable)  has  been  so  extensive  that  a  large  percentage 
of  all  burials  near  the  surface  have  been  reached.  Most  of 
the  large  collections  of  pottery  vessels  were  secured  in  the 
manner  described. 

Dr.  Patrick,  in  the  field  notes,  states  that  in  a  small 
mound  east  of  Monks,  he  found  a  floor  of  clay.  In  the 
center  there  was  a  depression,  or  basin.  On  the  slopes  of 
mounds  and  in  one  or  two  low  mounds  he  found  some 
effigy  pottery,  portraying  frog,  deer,  bear,  fish,  and  duck, 
but  unfortunately,  he  does  not  give  us  the  numbers  and 
we  cannot  identify  the  mounds  he  explored.  In  one  of  his 
notes,  he  does  not  think  the  large  mounds  were  used  for 
burial  places.  He  suggests  the  theory  that  they  were  made 
in  order  that  dwellings  might  be  elevated  above  the  plain. 
He  considered  the  ponds  as  artificial.  On  April  6,  1879,  he 

43 


44 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 


found  a  skeleton  and  pottery,  also  a  skull,  which  he  calls 
No.  3,  accompanied  by  a  copper  plate.  Mrs.  John  Bauman 
says  this  plate  was  sent  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
A  letter  from  Dr.  Neil  M.  Judd,  Curator  of  Archeology, 
informs  the  writer  that  he  cannot  locate  the  copper  speci- 
men in  the  Smithsonian  collections. 

Mrs.  Bauman  has  in  her  possession  several  field  maps, 
and  a  profile  survey  of  the  group.   She  says  that  the  first 

survey  was  executed  Nov.  5, 
1876,  and  that  the  profile 
survey  was  made  July  5, 
1879,  and  that  Louis  Gainer 
Kahn,  a  surveyor,  either 
made  this  survey,  or  as- 
sisted on  it.  She  thinks 
there  were  several  surveys, 
more  or  less  thoro,  made  of 
the  Cahokia  mounds  in  the 
period    between    1870    and 


Fig.  7 — Large  polished  celt  or  hatchet  in 
Peabody  Museum.   Half  natural  size. 


Specimens  from  Cahokia 
After  considerable  investi- 
gation we  were  able  to  trace 
the  location  of  a  number  of 
Cahokia  objects.  Most  of 
these  were  found  many  years 
ago  and  the  exact  circum- 
stances of  discovery  are  not 
available.  The  interesting 
local  collection  on  exhibition 
in  the  museum  of  Monti- 
cello  Seminary,  Godfrey, 
Illinois,  was  made  by  Wil- 
liam McAdams  probably  25 
to  as  far  back  as  40  years 
ago.  Some  of  the  objects  in 
this  collection  appear  to 
have  been  in  the  hands  of 
other  owners  for  some  time. 


Previous  Work  and  Collections  45 

The  largest  private  collection  of  material  from  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri  is  that  owned  by  E.  W. 
Paine  of  Springfield,  Illinois.  Mr.  Payne  has  many  ob- 
jects from  mounds,  graves,  and  the  surface  of  the  Ca- 
hokia  district  and  a  radius  of  lo  miles  about  it.  His 
collection  is  packed  away  and  it  is  impossible  to  secure 
photographs  or  descriptions. 

In  the  Peabody  Museum  is  a  large  polished  celt,  or 
hatchet.  This  is  shown  in  Text  Fig.  7.  This  was  chipped 
from  very  line,  highly  colored  flint — dark  brown  and  yel- 
low, with  a  suggestion  of  pink  in  the  coloring.  The  speci- 
men was  then  carefully  ground  and  polished  until  all 
depressions  made  by  flaking  were  removed.  Mr.  Charles 
C.  Willoughby,  Director,  called  my  attention  to  this  speci- 
men. The  catalog  stated  that  it  was  secured  _  from 
Monks  Mound  about  1873.  This  was  six  years  prior  to 
Professor  Putnam's  visit  to  the  mounds. 

Fig.  8,  Plate  XVI,  shows  a  very  large  axe  12x17  inches, 
weight  17  pounds.  It  was  found  near  the  Kunnemann 
Mound.  There  is  a  low  mound  just  west  of  the  Kunne- 
mann, No.  12,  from  which  a  large  number  of  large  un- 
finished celts  have  been  secured.  Mr.  Seever  obtained  a 
number  of  these  for  the  Missouri  Historical  Society  col- 
lection years  ago.  The  small  hematite  axe  (PI.  XVI,  Fig.  7) 
was  also  found  near  the  Kunnemann  Mound,  on  the 
surface. 

Plate  XVII,  Figs.  1-5  show  five  pipes,  three  of  which 
are  effigies.  No.  i  is  a  large  frog  effigy  pipe  from  a  grave  on 
the  bluffs  east  of  Cahokia.  No.  2  is  a  human  effigy  pipe 
found  near  Cahokia.  No.  5  is  a  pipe  of  sandstone,  from  the 
region,  exact  locality  not  given.  No.  3,  a  clay  pipe  from 
a  grave  near  Cahokia.  No.  4  is  probably  a  bird  effigy,  altho 
the  workmanship  is  not  very  good. 

Plate  XVII,  Fig.  8  is  a  sandstone  effigy  pipe,  large. 
Shown  Yi  size.  Found  with  a  burial  in  the  cemetery  on  the 
bluffs  between  the  two  sugar  loaf  mounds,  known  as  Group 
3,  Madison  County,  Illinois.  William  J.  Seever  collection. 

Plate  XVII,  Figs.  6,  7,  show  two  stone  idols  from  the 
Monticello  Seminary  collection.  Number  7  is  of  fluorspar 


46  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

and  about  12  inches  high.  It  was  found  on  the  bluffs 
directly  east  of  Cahokia.  Number  6  is  of  red  material, 
almost  pipestone,  is  about  18  inches  high,  exceedingly  well 
made  and  came  from  a  small  mound,  one  of  the  Cahokia 
Group,  on  the  Caseyville  Road,  St.  Clair  County,  Illinois. 
Unfortunately  the  number  of  the  mound  is  not  given. 

Plate  XVIII.  Two  sea  shells  and  a  string  of  shell 
beads.  The  string  of  shell  beads  (Fig.  i)  and  the  shell 
vessel  (Fig.  2)  were  taken  from  the  Mitchell  Mound  at 
the  time  it  was  destroyed  by  the  Chicago  and  Alton  R.  R. 
in  the  winter  of  1876.  The  shell  (Fig.  3)  shown  for  com- 
parison, was  found  in  a  mound  in  Jersey  County.  They 
are  shown  34  size. 

Plate  XVI,  Figs.  2-6.  Shell  spoons  and  bone  awls 
(Fig.  i)  from  cemeteries  south  and  west  of  Cahokia.  Col- 
lection of  William  J.  Seever.  Broken  unio  shells  with 
scalloped  edges  have  frequently  been  found  by  the  survey 
and  were  identical  with  those  shown  in  this  picture. 

Plate  XVIII,  Fig.  4.  Attention  is  called  to  this  remark- 
able art-object.  It  portrays  the  height  of  efficiency  in  flint- 
chipping.  Found  by  Mr.  Barth,  a  tenant  of  the  Rameys, 
south  of  Monks  Mound,  in  December,  1921,  on  the  sur- 
face.   Shown  full  size. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  SEASON'S  WORK 

Comparison  of  the  map  presented  in  this  bulletin  with 
that  published  in  our  preliminary  paper  (Vol.  XIX,  No. 
35)  will  indicate  that  we  have  added  many  more  mounds, 
the  last  one  being  No.  84.  We  have  also  included  burial 
places  and  such  areas  of  village  site  as  were  excavated.  In 
addition  to  these  84  mounds  there  is  one  lying  in  the 
edge  of  East  St.  Louis,  those  of  East  St.  Louis  which 
were  destroyed,  mounds  south  of  East  St.  Louis,  those 
about  Horseshoe  Lake,  and  Mitchell.  Including  these, 
together  with  the  mounds  on  the  bluffs  in  the  vicinity  of 
Edgemont  and  Collinsville,  there  must  have  been  a  grand 
total  of  at  least  125  mounds  within  10  miles  of  the  domi- 
nant structure  known  as  Monks.  At  some  future  time  all 
of  these  will  be  mapped  and  then  we  shall  know  the  exact 
number. 

The  work  of  the  past  two  seasons  would  indicate  that 
some  of  the  mounds  are  older  than  others.  This  is  not 
made  as  a  definite  statement  but  such  is  our  opinion.  It 
is  based  on  that  fact  that  such  tumuli  as  Nos.  84,  66,  61, 
and  39  contain  very  few  pottery  fragments,  bones  or 
broken  stone.  Other  mounds  such  as  Nos.  33,  32,  30 
(which  is  really  a  part  of  31),  76,  and  11  (Kunnemann), 
on  excavation  were  found  to  be  composed  of  earth  taken 
from  a  populous  village  site.  The  mounds  in  which  verj^ 
little  material  occurred  were  chiefly  composed  of  black 
gumbo.  An  exception  should  be  noted  in  the  case  of  No. 
66  (the  Harding  Mound),  which  was  tested  so  superficially 
that  even  preliminary  observations  are  scarcely  in  order. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  our  augers  took  out  cores 
from  6  to  7  inches  in  diameter,  and  altho  they  were 
frequently  put  down,  yet  the  area  these  cores  represent  is 
but  a  minute  portion  of  the  structure  as  a  whole.  In  the 
I  case  of  a  trench  or  pit  much  more  satisfactory  observations 
.  are  possible,  yet  pits  in  the  large  mounds  are  expensive  and 
trenches  even  more  so.  Hence  the  use  of  augers  as  these 
would  determine  whether  a  mound  was  stratified.    Obvi- 

47 


48  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

ously,  augers  might  penetrate  within  a  foot  of  either  a 
burial  or  an  ahar  containing  objects,  or  a  deposit  of  arti- 
facts, and  we  would  not  know  that  such  existed  in  the 
mound  unless  the  auger  cores  when  brought  up  included 
either  bones  or  some  other  objects.  Hence,  construed  tech- 
nically, a  mound  may  not  be  said  to  be  properly  tested 
if  we  depend  on  the  auger  cores  for  our  information.  It 
seemed  to  us,  however,  in  view  of  the  number  of  times  these 
augers  penetrated  to  the  bases  of  mounds,  that  were 
burials  or  deposits  of  objects  numerous  they  would  have 
been  encountered  in  some  of  the  borings. 

Since  none  of  the  very  large  mounds,  notably  57,  60, 
48,  5,  58,  41,  and  42,  were  examined,  it  is  possible  that  the 
interments  are  in  these  or  in  No.  38  (Monks).  It  is  a 
question  whether  these  largest  ones  could  be  tested  by 
means  of  the  augers.   Probably  tunnels  will  be  necessary. 

Considering  that  some  of  the  mounds  contain  much 
refuse  material  scattered  through  the  earth  and  others  al- 
most none,  it  would  seem  that  two  explanations  might  be 
offered.  First,  that  the  earth  was  taken  from  spaces  on 
which  had  stood  no  cabins.  Second,  that  these  mounds 
were  among  the  first  constructed  and  when  the  village 
population  was  restricted.  The  fact  that  much  material 
is  found  in  mounds  in  which  gumbo  does  not  predominate 
might  indicate  that  the  natives  did  not  place  their  cabins 
or  wigwams  on  gumbo  soil  at  that  particular  time,  yet  we 
do  find  a  great  deal  of  surface  indication  directly  south  of 
the  largest  mound,  where  gumbo  soil  predominates.  Our 
explorations  have  not  progressed  sufficiently  to  determine 
positively  this  and  other  questions  with  any  degree  of 
finality,  yet  what  little  light  we  have  been  able  to  shed 
on  the  past  would  indicate  that  certain  mounds  were  built 
before  there  was  much  population  at  Cahokia.  Further- 
more, it  does  not  seem  possible  that  all  the  mounds  would 
have  been  constructed  within  a  few  years.  There  must 
have  been  a  gradual,  more  or  less  systematic  mound  con- 
struction epoch  covering  a  considerable  length  of  time  and 
quite  likely  several  generations. 


Observations  on  the  Season's  Work  49 

The  soil  around  Mrs.  Tippett's  Mound  (61)  is  mostly 
gumbo;  the  village  site  indications  are  not  heavy,  but  sev- 
eral hundred  yards  north,  where  there  is  less  gumbo,  the 
village  was  thickly  populated.  It  does  not  seem  likely  that 
the  Indians  would  go  any  distance  to  secure  the  earth  for 
the  construction  of  No.  61.  It  would  be  more  convenient 
to  obtain  it  from  points  nearby  and  the  two  depressions 
marked  "lakes"  on  the  map  probably  represent  the  places 
from  which  earth  was  taken  for  61  and  62,  and  probably 
for  other  mounds.  A  similar  argument  would  apply  to 
No.  84  located  in  an  unfavorable  spot  for  a  village  site, 
but  it  would  not  apply  to  others  of  the  mounds.  It  will 
require  a  very  careful  study  and  comparison,  as  well  as 
more  research  in  the  way  of  excavation,  to  determine  these 
points.  Whether  it  will  be  possible  in  the  future  to  assign 
dates  is  quite  problematical.  Certainly  the  pits  and 
trenches  are  sufficiently  extensive  to  have  brought  to  light 
objects  of  European  manufacture  had  the  Cahokia  people 
lived  here  during  the  historic  period.  We  are  safe  in  assum- 
ing that  the  Cahokia  Mounds  are  prehistoric,  for  not  one 
single  tool,  weapon,  ornament,  or  vessel  of  white  man's 
make  has  been  taken  from  any  one  of  our  hundreds  of  pits. 

The  Immensity  of  Cahokia 

After  three  seasons  of  exploration  and  considerable  study, 
that  which  impresses  one  most  is  the  immensity  of  Caho- 
kia. That  there  is  no  mound  group  to  compare  with  it 
north  of  Mexico  is  quite  obvious.  As  the  survey  continues 
and  extends  its  operations  it  becomes  more  and  more  evi- 
dent that  it  will  require  considerable  time  and  a  great  deal 
of  work  in  order  to  secure  sufficient  data  and  specimens  to 
reconstruct  the  ancient  life  of  the  Cahokia  builders.  One 
might  not  go  far  afield  if  he  claimed  that  notwithstanding 
the  amount  of  actual  digging — there  has  been  consider- 
able— that  the  survey  has  but  begun  the  real  exploration  of 
this  place.  Beyond  question,  the  population  was  extensive — 
how  numerous,  we  do  not  know,  but  certainly  many 
thousands  of  Indians  lived  hereabout.  According  to  the 
funeral  customs  of  all  mound  building  tribes  previously 


so 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 


studied  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  the  most  artistic 
and  valuable  objects  were  placed  with  the  dead.  That  the 
survey  has  unearthed  so  little  material  is  not  to  the  writer 
discouraging,  neither  does  it  tend  to  imply  that  such  ma- 
terial did  not  exist.  On  the  contrary  it  is  quite  evident  that 
we  have  not  investigated  the  tombs  in  which  the  ranking 
personages  of  Cahokia  were  interred.  Continued  research 
will  bring  them  to  light. 


NOTES  ON  CAHOKIA  SKELETONS 

By  Dr.  R.  J.  Terry 
Washington  University,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Skeleton  No.  28.  Cemetery  in  mounds  19,  20,  21.  Skull, 
most  of  the  vertebrae  and  ribs,  parts  of  the  sternum,  frag- 
ments of  scapulae,  clavicles,  right  humerus,  parts  of  both 
radii  and  ulnae,  some  hand  bones,  fragments  of  hip  bones, 
both  femora  and  right  tibia,  parts  of  both  fibulae,  some 
bones  of  the  feet.  Skeleton  was  found  two  feet  beneath 
the  surface;  extended,  head  to  the  east,  face  upward.  A 
univalve  shell  was  found  beneath  the  chin;  five  rough 
flints  around  the  neck ;  a  piece  of  sandstone  marked  with 
two  straight  grooves  on  opposite  surfaces,  a  small  bone 
spatula,  pieces  of  ochre,  and  soft  red  hematite  upon  the 
chest.  The  bones  are  fragile,  very  dry,  and  porous.  The 
cranium  lacks  the  basioccipital  and  sphenoid;  is  symmet- 
rical, broad,  and  high.  Marked  occipital  taurus,  tendency 
toward  keeling  of  vertex;  beginning  closure  of  sagittal 
suture.  Teeth  much  worn ;  incisors  lost ;  lower  molars  all 
shed.  Glabello-occipital  length  16.8  cm.;  greatest  breadth 
14.2  cm.;  height  12.3  cm.;  bigoniac  breadth  of  mandible 
9.8  cm.  Clavicles  slender,  curved,  right  measures  14.7  cm. ; 
right  humerus,  maximum  length  30.7  cm.;  right  radius 
24.1  cm.;  right  femur,  maximum  length  42.6  cm.  Shape 
of  shaft  prismatic:  platymeria  marked.  Right  tibia  pre- 
sents shape  of  shaft  No.  5  (Hrdlicka)  length  34.5  cm. 
(medial  malleolus  lost);  platycnaemy  marked;  retrover- 
sion of  head  slight. 

Skeleton  No.  29.  Cranium  large,  broad  and  high;  not 
well  enough  preserved  to  give  trustworthy  measurements. 
Marked  asymmetry  apparently  post-mortem ;  vertex  reaches 
highest  point  at  obelion;  sagittal  suture  closed.  Slight 
keeling  of  vertex.  Occipital  taurus  prominent.  Bigoniac 
breadth  10.8  cm.;  teeth  much  worn;  shovel-shaped  in- 
cisors ;  left  lower  canine,  three  ridged.  Right  clavicle  slen- 
der, curved,  length  15.8  cm.  Humeri  perforated;  left  large, 
right  medium.    Left  humerus  maximum  length  32.1  cm. 

51 


52  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

Femora  moderately  platymeric ;  shape  cylindrical  to  pris- 
matic. Right  bone  maximum  length  45.8  cm. ;  tibiae  show 
pathological  enlargement  in  diameters  of  shafts;  head  of 
left  bone  roughened,  marked  retroversion  in  right  and  ob- 
scure facet  at  lower  anterior  margin.  All  of  the  bones  are 
very  brittle  and  dry.  A  male  skeleton. 

Skeleton  No.  i  consists  of  only  a  cranial  fragment  in- 
cluding face  and  frontal  bone,  left  parietal  and  temporal. 
Very  dry  and  fragile.  Apparently  a  high  cranium.  Slight 
tendency  to  keeling.  Dental  alveoli  all  present;  wisdom 
teeth  not  erupted:  incisors  and  canines  present  lateral 
ridges. 

Skeleton  No.  100.  Skull  only,  taken  from  cemetery  at 
Pittsburg  Lake.  Well  preserved.  Glabello-occipital  length 
17.4  cm.;  greatest  breadth  13.6  cm.;  height  19.4  cm.  No 
tendency  to  keeling.  No  occipital  taurus.  Sagittal  suture 
open ;  coronal  obliterated  inferiorly.  Chin  pointed,  bigon- 
iac  breadth  8.8  cm. ;  teeth  much  worn.  Evidently  the  skull 
of  a  woman. 

The  skulls  excepting  No.  100  have  the  highest  point  of 
the  vertex  about  the  obelion  with  a  steep  slant  to  the  gla- 
bella. This  head  form  is  also  strikingly  marked  in  an  en- 
docranial  cast  that  was  obtained  by  lifting  away  the  fragile 
bones  of  the  cranium  from  the  hard  mass  of  gumbo  which 
completely  filled  the  cranial  cavity.  A  plaster  replica  of 
this  earth  cast  has  been  made  and  will  be  the  subject  of 
future  study. 


CAHOKIA  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Note.     It  is  thought  best  to  reprint  the  bibliography  as 

a  number  of  references  were  omitted  in  the  preHminary 

bibHography,  also  several  titles  have  since  appeared.  Re- 
vised to  November  15,  1922. 

Account  of  an  Expedition  in  the  years  1819-20  under  com- 
mand of  Major  Stephen  H.  Long.  Philadelphia,  1823. 
Vol.  II,  pp.  59-62. 

Account  of  de  La  Salle's  Last  Expedition,  An.  Tonti. 
London,  1698,  pp.  'j'j  and  85. 

American  Notes.  Charles  Dickens.  London,  1868.  Chap- 
ter XIII. 

Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Smithson- 
ian Institution  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  Vol.  I,  No. 
I.  Squier  and  Davis.  Washington,  1847. 

Ancient  Mounds  of  Illinois,  The.  Hon.  Wm.  McAdams, 
Jr.  Proceedings  of  the  A.  A.  A.  S.,  Vol.  XXIX,  1880. 
Boston  Meeting. 

Annual  Report  (12th)  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  Maps  of 
Cahokia.   P.  134. 

Annual  Report  (12th)  Peabody  Museum.  Prof.  Putnam 
and  Dr.  Patrick.  P.  472. 

Antiquities  of  Cahokia  or  Monks  Mound.  Published  in 
the  History  of  Madison  County  (111.)  and  separately. 
WiUiam  McAdam.   1883. 

Antiquities  of  Central  and  South-Eastern  Missouri.  Ger- 
ard Fowke.  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Bulletin 
37,  pp.  6  and  7.  Washington,  1910. 

Archeology  of  Illinois,  The.  Paper,  in  Transactions  of 
the  Illinois  State  Historical  Society  for  1907.  Spring- 
field. 

Archeological  Reconnaissance  of  the  Cahokia  and  Re- 
lated Mound  Groups.  D.  I.  Bushnell,  Jr.  Smithsonian 
Miscellaneous  Collections,  Vol.  LXXII,  No.  15,  pp.  92- 
105.  Explorations  of  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  192 1. 
Washington,  1922. 

53 


54  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

Cahokia  Indian  Mounds,  The.  A  Plea  for  their  Preserva- 
tion. Thomas  English.  Paper,  in  the  Geographical  Re- 
view, Vol.  XI,  No.  2,  Apr.,  192 1.   New  York  City. 

Cahokia  and  Surrounding  Mound  Groups.  D.  I.  Bush- 
nell,  Jr.  Papers  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American 
Archeology  and  Ethnology,  Harvard  University,  Vol. 
Ill,  No.  I. 

Cahokia  Mounds,  The.  Warren  K.  Moorehead.  Univer- 
sity of  Illinois  Bulletin,  Vol.  XIX,  No.  35.  April  24, 
1922. 

Conspiracy  of  Pontiac.  F.  Parkman.  Vol.  I,  pp.  62,  156: 
Vol.  2,  pp.  253,  309-311.  Boston,  1902. 

Excursion  through  the  Slave  States.  G.  W.  Featherstone- 
haugh,  F.  R.  S.  London,  1844.  Vol.  I,  pp. 264-272. 

Far  West,  The.  Edmund  Flagg.  New  York,  1838,  pp. 
166-167. 

Field  for  Archeological  Research  in  Illinois.  John  F. 
Snyder.  Paper,  in  Transactions  of  the  Illinois  State 
Historical  Society  for  1900.    Springfield. 

Footprints  of  Vanished  Races.  A.  J.  Conant.  St.  Louis, 
1879,  PP-  29  and  40. 

Geology  and  Mineral  Resources  of  the  St.  Louis  Quadran- 
gle Missouri-Illinois.  N.  M.  Fenneman.  U.  S.  G.  S. 
Bull.  438,  Dept.  of  the  Interior,  Washington,  191 1. 

Great  Cahokia  Mound,  The.  John  F.  Snyder.  Paper,  in 
the  Journal  of  the  Illinois  State  Historical  Society,  Vol. 
X,  July,  1917. 

Handbook  of  American  Indians.  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology,  Bulletin  30,  Pt.  I,  p.  186.  Washington,  1907. 

Half  Century  of  Conflict.  A.  F.  Parkman.  Vol.  I,  p.  317. 
Boston,  1902. 

Historic  Illinois :  The  Romance  of  the  Earlier  Days.  Ran- 
dall Parrish.   Chicago,  1905. 

Hopewell  Mound  Group  of  Ohio,  The.  Warren  K.  Moore- 
head. Field  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Publication 
211,  Anthropological  Series,  Vol.  VI,  Chicago,  1922, 
p.  177. 

Journal  of  a  Voyage  to  North  America.  Charlevoix.  Lon- 
don, 1761.  Vol.  II,  p.  256. 


Cahokia  Bibliography  55 

Journal  of  an  Exploring  Tour  beyond  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains.  P.  39. 

Kaskaskia  Indians,  The.  A  Tentative  Hypothesis.  John 
F.  Snyder.  Paper,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Illinois  State 
Historical  Society,  Vol.  V,  July,  19 12. 

Literary  Digest.  W.  K.  Moorehead.  New  York,  Sept.  10, 
1921. 

Montcalm  and  Wolf.  F.  Parkman.  Vol.  I,  p.  41.  Boston, 
1901. 

Mound  Builders,  The.   J.  P.  MacLean.   Cincinnati,  1879. 

Mound  Builders,  Cahokia  or  Monks  Mound,  The.  Pub- 
lished by  the  Ramey  family  about  1916.  (Extracts  from 
various  publications.) 

Ohio  Mound  Builders.   E.  O.  Randall.   Columbus,  1908. 

Origin  of  the  Cahokia  Mounds,  The.  A.  R.  Crook.  Bul- 
letin of  The  Illinois  State  Museum.  Springfield,  Illinois, 
May,  1922. 

Origin  and  Various  Types  of  Mounds  in  Eastern  United 
States.  Paper,  in  Proceedings  19th  International  Con- 
gress of  Americanists.  D.  I.  Bushnell,  Jr.  Washington, 
1915.  Washington,  1917. 

Parker,  Samuel.  Journal  of  an  Exploring  Journey  Beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  p.  39.  Ithaca,  N.  Y.   1838. 

Peabpdy  Museum.  Harper's  Monthly  Magazine,  October, 
1 88 1,  pp.  670-677. 

Prehistoric  Illinois.  Certain  Indian  Mounds  Technically 
Considered.  John  F.  Snyder.  Paper,  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Illinois  State  Historical  Society.  Vols.  I  &  II,  Spring- 
field, 1909.    Pt.  III.    Temple  or  Domiciliary  Mounds. 

July. 

Prehistoric  Illinois.  Its  Phychozoic  Problems.  John  F. 
Snyder.  Paper,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Illinois  State  His- 
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Prehistoric  Times.  Rt.  Henry  Lord  Asebury  (John  Lub- 
bock). 6th  Edition,  N.  Y.   1900. 

Rambler  in  North  America,  The.  Charles  Jasper.  La 
Trobe,  Vol.  II,  pp.  175-182.  New  York,  1835. 


56  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

Recollections  of  the  Last  Ten  Years,  passed  in  Occasional 
Residences  and  Journeyings  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. Timothy  Flint.   Boston,  1826. 

Records  of  Ancient  Races  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Wil- 
liam McAdams.  St.  Louis,  1887. 

Report  on  the  Mound  Exploration  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnol- 
ogy. Cyrus  Thomas.  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  12th  An- 
nual Report,  1890-91.  Washington,  1894. 

Save  our  American  Pyramids.  Robert  H.  Moulton.  Paper 
in  the  Outlook,  New  York,  January  10,  1923,  pp.  83-85. 

Save  the  Mounds.  Letters  and  resolutions  from  individ- 
uals and  societies  favoring  a  state  park  to  include  the 
tumuli.  Cahokia  Mound  Association,  1914. 

Smithsonian  Report.    Charles   Rau.    Washington,    1866, 

pp.  346-353. 
Smithsonian   Report.    Charles   Rau.    Washington,    1868, 

pp.  401-407. 

St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat,  Feb.  5,  1888.  Contains  an  arti- 
cle on  Monks  Mound  by  J.  R.  Patrick. 

Views  of  Louisiana.  H.  M.  Brackenridge.  Pittsburg,  18 14, 
p.  287. 


Part  II 

THE  GEOLOGICAL  ASPECTS  OF  SOME  OF  THE 
CAHOKIA  (ILLINOIS)  MOUNDS 

BY 

Morris  M.  Leighton 
Illinois  Geological  Survey 


State  Geological  Survey  Division 
March  i,  1923 
Dr.  David  Kinley 

President,  University  of  Illinois 

Dear  President  Kinley : 

The  accompanying  report  on  a  geological  investigation 
of  Cahokia  mounds  by  Dr.  M.  M.  Leighton,  undertaken  at 
your  suggestion,  is  transmitted  for  your  information  and 
for  publication  if  desired. 

The  interest  attaching  to  the  mounds,  and  particularly 
the  movement  to  include  them  in  a  state  park,  made  it 
desirable  to  supplement  the  archeological  investigations 
of  Dr.  W.  K.  Moorehead  with  those  of  a  specialist  in  sur- 
ficial  geology,  in  order  that  all  possible  light  might  be 
thrown  on  the  origin  of  the  mounds.  While  there  has  been 
a  decided  difference  of  opinion,  and  casual  consideration 
of  the  problem  would  lead  a  geologist  to  assume,  tenta- 
tively, that  the  mounds  are  natural  remnants  of  an  alluvial 
terrace  which  has  been  mostly  removed  by  erosion,  the 
careful  scrutiny  of  the  excavations,  supplemented  by  sys- 
tematic auger  borings  and  study  of  the  oxidation  and 
leaching  of  the  materials  in  the  mounds  and  under  the 
surrounding  flood  plain,  makes  it  clear  that  the  mounds  so 
far  investigated  are  artificial  rather  than  natural.  Others 
which  have  not  been  studied  may  prove  to  be  natural,  but 
I  am  not  justified  in  expressing  an  opinion  in  advance. 

The  careful  observations  and  deductions  by  Dr.  Leigh- 
ton  supplemented  by  my  own  less  extensive  studies  may 
lead  to  a  conclusion  harmonious  with  that  of  Dr.  Moore- 
head. I  am  glad  to  transmit  the  results  of  Dr.  Leighton's 
efforts  and  to  express  the  hope  that  the  State  may  acquire 
and  preserve  these  interesting  and  significant  relics  of  a 
settlement  and  civilization  in  Illinois  far  back  of  anything 
recorded  in  the  history  of  man. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

F.  W.  DeWolf,  Chiej^ 

State  Geological  Survey 

59 


Form 
towh 
Louis, 
hasli; 
sentil 
pointe 
Nortli 
sisted 
In 
smallf 
khe 


was  a: 
Tt 
ageo 
moiin 
Di\isi 
takei 
each; 
tliedi 


The 


Moui 
heart) 
Moor 
labor 
of  the 
forlii 


INTRODUCTION 

The  Problem 

For  many  years  there  has  been  a  difference  of  opinion  as 
to  whether  the  group  of  mounds  northeast  of  East  St. 
Louis,  on  the  American  Bottom  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
has  had  a  natural  mode  of  origin,  or  whether  they  repre- 
sent the  work  of  mound-builders.  Monks  Mound  has  been 
pointed  out  by  some  as  being  the  largest  Indian  Mound  in 
North  America,  if  not  in  the  world,  while  others  have  in- 
sisted that  it  is  natural. 

In  September,  1921,  excavations  were  started  in  the 
smaller  mounds  by  Professor  Warren  K.  Moorehead, 
Archeologist,  of  Andover,  Massachusetts,  and  continued 
for  two  months  under  the  joint  auspices  of  the  University 
of  Illinois  and  the  Illinois  State  Museum  Division.  The 
following  spring  and  fall  of  1922,  the  exploratory  work 
was  assumed  entirely  by  the  University. 

The  excavations  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
a  geologic  examination  of  the  materials  composing  the 
mounds,  and  in  this  work  the  State  Geological  Survey 
Division  cooperated.  The  writer  was  requested  to  under- 
take the  geological  work.  Five  visits  of  about  two  days 
each  were  made  at  advantageous  times  for  inspection,  and 
the  data  for  the  following  report  were  collected. 

Acknowledgments 

The  writer  wishes  to  express  his  sincere  thanks  to  the 
Ramey  family,  owners  of  Monks  Mound  and  other 
mounds;  to  Mr.  Schmidt,  owner  of  the  Schmidt  Mound, 
and  to  Mr.  Kunnemann,  owner  of  the  Kunnemann 
Mound,  for  the  privileges  they  extended  and  their 
hearty  spirit  of  cooperation;  to  Professor  Warren  K. 
Moorehead  for  his  contribution  of  men  for  certain  manual 
labor  necessary  to  the  study;  to  Curator  Frank  C.  Baker, 
of  the  Museum  of  Natural  History,  University  of  Illinois, 
for  his  identification  of  fossil  shells  found  in  the  mounds 

61 


62  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

and  the  east  bluffs ;  and  to  Professor  W.  S.  Bayley  of  the 
Department  of  Geology,  University  of  Illinois,  for  his 
identification  of  certain  rock  materials.  The  writer  also 
acknowledges  his  indebtedness  and  gratitude  to  F.  W.  De- 
Wolf,  Chief  of  the  Illinois  Geological  Survey,  who  by  his 
discussions  and  suggestions  contributed  scientifically  to 
the  success  of  the  study. 

Former  Opinions  of  Geologists  Regarding  the 
Origin  of  the  Mounds 

In  searching  the  literature  for  opinions  regarding  the  origin 
of  the  mounds,  the  writer  has  been  careful  to  select  those 
of  geologists,  rather  than  those  of  archeologists,  inasmuch 
as  the  supreme  motive  of  the  former  is  to  critically  study 
and  properly  interpret  land  forms  and  the  materials  of  the 
earth,  while  the  archeologists  are  interested  primarily  in 
the  physical,  mental,  and  social  characteristics  and  activi- 
ties of  pre-historic  man. 

The  Views  of  G.  W.  Featherstonhaugh,  F.R.S.,  F.  G.S. — 
During  his  travels  in  1834  and  1835  from  Washington, 
D.  C,  to  the  frontier  of  Mexico,  the  English  geologist,  G. 
W.  Featherstonhaugh,  visited  the  Cahokia  mounds,  and 
gave  his  account  in  his  book,  "Excursions  in  the  Slave 
States,"  Vol.  I,  1844,  pp.  266-270.  Featherstonhaugh  evi- 
dently did  not  doubt  the  human  origin  of  the  mounds,  for 
he  offered  no  suggestions  to  the  contrary  and  definitely 
states  that  "the  soil  of  which  the  mound  consists  is  the  rich 
black  mould  taken  from  the  surface  below.  .  .  ."  (p.  268). 

The  Views  of  Professor  A.  H.  Worthen. — As  early  as 
1 866,  the  natural  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  mounds  received 
the  support  of  a  no  less  reputable  geologist  than  Professor 
A.  H.  Worthen,  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Illi- 
nois, Professor  Worthen,  in  Volume  I  of  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Illinois,  page  314,  considered  the  mounds  as 
"proof"  that  the  Mississippi  Valley  had  been  filled  to  a 
height  of  50  or  60  feet  above  its  present  level  and  that  this 
was  "in  part  removed  by  subsequent  erosion  during  the 
period  of  elevation  and  drainage  that  succeeded  the  drift 


Introduction  63 

epoch."  Artificial  exposures  in  the  large  mound  in  the  up- 
per part  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  now  destroyed,  were  ex- 
amined by  him,  and  these  showed  about  15  feet  of  common 
chocolate  brown  drift  clay  at  the  base,  overlaid  by  30  feet 
or  more  of  "the  ash  colored  marly  sands  of  the  loess,  the 
line  of  separation  between  the  two  deposits  remaining  as 
distinct  and  well  defined  as  they  usually  are  in  good  arti- 
ficial sections  in  the  railroad  cuts  through  these  deposits." 

From  this  he  inferred  that  the  "mounds  are  not  arti- 
ficial elevations  ....  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  are  simply 
outliers  of  loess  and  drift,  that  have  remained  as  originally 
deposited,  while  the  surrounding  contemporaneous  strata 
are  swept  away  by  denuding  forces." 

It  seems  pertinent  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
science  of  Glacial  Geology  was  scarcely  beyond  its  embry- 
onic state  at  this  time,  and  but  little  more  could  be  claimed 
for  the  sciences  of  Physiography  and  Sedimentation. 

The  Views  of  William  Mc Adams. — William  McAdams, 
a  teacher  and  careful  observer  of  natural  science,  including 
geological  phenomena,  regarded  Monks  Mound  (called 
by  him  Cahokia  Mound)  as  of  artificial  origin.  In  his 
pamphlet,  "Antiquities  of  Cahokia,  or  Monk's  Mound  in 
Madison  County,  Illinois,"  Edwardsville,  Illinois,  1883, 
pages  2-3,  he  says: 

"Since  some  doubts  have  been  expressed  as  to  the  artificial  origin 
of  this  structure  we  were  much  interested  to  ascertain  what  could  be 
learned  in  this  respect  by  examination.  On  the  top  of  the  pyramid 
are  the  remains  of  a  house,  said  to  have  been  commenced  by  the 
monks,  but  afterwards  added  to  and  finished  as  a  comfortable  resi- 
dence for  the  family  of  a  man  named  Hill,  an  enterprising  settler 
who  owned  the  mound  and  a  large  body  of  land  adjoining.  Beneath 
this  house  is  a  deep  unwalled  cellar.  A  section  down  the  side  of  the 
cellar  to  the  depth  of  ten  feet  very  plainly  revealed  a  deposit  of 
various  kinds  of  earth  without  stratification.  The  principal  part  of 
this  deposit  was  the  black  humus  or  mould,  so  common  in  the  bot- 
tom and  forming  the  principal  soil,  very  sticky  when  wet  and  break- 
ing into  cubical  blocks  when  dry.  Here  and  there,  as  if  thrown  pro- 
miscuously among  the  black  mould,  is  a  bunch  of  yellow  clay,  or 
sand,  or  marly  loess,  these  bunches  being  about  such  size  as  a  man 
could  easily  carry. 


64  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

"Similar  sections  can  be  seen  up  the  old  road  made  by  Hill  to 
ascend  to  his  residence. 

"About  midway,  on  the  north  side,  or  face  of  the  pyramid,  and 
elevated  25  or  30  feet  above  the  base,  in  a  small  depression,  stands 
a  pine  tree,  singularly  enough,  since  this  tree  is  not  found  In  the 
forests  in  this  locality.  There  was  a  story  rife  among  the  early  set- 
tlers that  this  tree  stood  at  the  mouth  of  an  opening  or  gallery  into 
the  interior  of  the  mounds.  To  ascertain  the  truth  of  this  matter, 
Mr.  Thomas  Ramey,  the  present  owner  of  the  mound,  commenced 
a  tunnel  at  this  tree  and  excavated  about  ninety  (90)  feet  towards  the 
center  of  the  mound.  When  fifteen  feet  from  the  entrance  to  the 
tunnel  a  piece  of  lead  ore  was  discovered,  but  no  other  object  of 
interest  was  found.  The  deposits  penetrated  by  the  tunnel  are  very 
plainly  shown  to  be  the  same  as  seen  in  the  cellar  mentioned  above." 

Mr.  McAdams  republished  a  paragraph  from  Edmund 
Flagg's  book  on  "The  Far  West,"  1838,  p.  167,  regarding 
an  old  well  on  the  Mound.  Flagg's  description  reads : 

"Upon  the  western  side  of  Monk  Mound,  at  a  distance  of  several 
yards  from  the  summit,  is  a  well  some  eighty  or  ninety  feet  in  depth; 
the  water  of  which  would  be  agreeable  enough  were  not  the  presence 
of  sulfur,  in  some  of  its  modifications,  so  palpable.  This  well  pene- 
trates the  heart  of  the  mound,  yet,  from  its  depth,  cannot  reach 
lower  than  the  level  of  the  surrounding  plain.  I  learned,  upon  in- 
quiry, that  when  this  well  was  excavated,  several  fragments  of  pot- 
tery, of  decayed  ears  of  corn,  and  other  articles,  were  thrown  up 
from  a  depth  of  sixty-five  feet;  proof  incontestible  of  the  artificial 
structure  of  the  mound." 

The  Views  of  Doctor  N.  M.  Fenneman. — Doctor  N.  M. 
Fenneman  of  the  University  of  Cincinnati  believes  that  the 
valley  was  much  aggraded  in  the  Wisconsin  epoch,  but  that 
this  filling  has  not  been  entirely  removed,  there  being  rem- 
nants left  within  the  cut-offs  of  the  meanders  which  were 
later  eroded,  dissected,  and  narrowed  "by  the  meander  of 
the  main  stream  and  its  tributaries  until  mounds  were  pro- 
duced.' Among  those,"  he  continues,  "was  the  great  nat- 
ural hill  which  was  subsequently  modified  by  man  and  is 
now  the  partly  artificial  Monks  Mound. 

"The  partly  artificial  character  of  Monks  Mound  is  evident  from 
its  form.  That  it  is  in  part  a  natural  feature,  is  seen  by  its  structure. 
Sand  is  found  neatly  inter-stratified  with  loam  at  an  altitude  of  about 
455  feet,  or  35  feet  above  its  base.  To  this  height,  at  least,  the  mound 
is  natural  and  as  there  is  sufficient  other  evidence  that  the  valley  was 

^Physiograyhy  of  the  St.  Louis  Area,  111.  State  Geol.  Survey  Bull.  1 2, 1909,  pp.  62,  63. 


Introduction  65 

filled  in  the  Wisconsin  epoch  to  at  least  that  height,  the  original 
mound  may  be  regarded  as  a  remnant  of  the  alluvial  formation  of 
that  time.  Its  base  was  probably  narrowed  artificially  by  the  re- 
moval of  material  which  was  carried  to  the  top.  In  this  way  also 
the  conspicuous  abruptness  of  its  slopes  was  probably  produced. 
No  natural  stratification  has  yet  been  found  more  than  35  feet  above 
its  base  and  therefore,  for  aught  that  is  now  known,  more  than  half 
its  height  may  be  artificial.  There  is  therefore  no  reason  at  present 
to  deny  to  Monks  Mound  the  distinction  claimed  for  it  of  being  the 
largest  artificial  mound  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  The  time  of  its 
building  and  the  people  by  whom  it  was  built  are  unknown. 

"The  many  other  mounds  within  a  mile  or  two  of  Monks  Mound 
had  the  same  origin.  Several  of  the  larger  ones  have  been  similarly 
altered  artificially.  The  low  ones  of  gentle  slope  and  less  definite 
outline  are  believed  to  be  in  their  natural  forms. 

A  later  statement^  reads:  "To  a  height  of  35  feet  above  its  base 
the  material  of  Monks  Mound  shows  assortment  and  stratification, 
which  is  evidently  natural.  Above  that  height  it  affords  no  structural 
evidence  bearing  on  the  question  whether  it  is  of  natural  or  artificial 
origin;  but  the  form  plainly  indicates  the  work  of  man,  and  not  of 
geologic  processes.  It  is  highly  probable  that  the  mound  in  its  nat- 
ural condition  was  much  lower  and  broader  than  at  present,  and  was 
of  rounded,  almost  drumloidal  form,  similar  to  the  smaller  ones  of 
the  group  which  now  surround  it.  By  cutting  down  its  margin  to 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  plain  its  builders  obtained  material  to 
raise  the  mound  to  perhaps  two  or  three  times  its  former  height 
without  making  excavations  beneath  the  level  of  the  plain  and  with- 
out carrying  material  from  the  blufi's,  2^  miles  distant.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  material  was  obtained  by  either  of  these  latter  means." 

The  Views  of  Doctor  A.  R.  Crook. — At  the  Philadelphia 
meeting  of  the  Geological  Society  of  America,  December 
29-31,  1914,  Doctor  A.  R.  Crook,  Chief  of  the  State  Mu- 
seum Division,  presented  a  paper  on  the  "Origin  of  Monks 
Mound,"  based  upon  25  borings  made  in  the  north  face  of 
the  mound,  and  upon  an  examination  of  the  surrounding 
mounds  and  the  valley  bluffs  two  miles  away.  Quoting 
from  an  abstract  of  this  paper  which  appears  in  Volume 
26,  191 5,  of  the  Society,  pages  74,  75,  he  says  : 

"Twenty-five  borings  were  made  in  the  north  and  most  abrupt 
side.  I.  They  showed  different  strata  at  diflferent  elevations.  2.  These 
strata  agree  with  similar  elevations  in  the  other  mounds  and  with 

^Geology  and  Mineral  Resources  of  the  St.  Louts  Quadrangle,  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey  Bull.  438,  191 1,  p.  12. 


66  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

soil  from  the  bluff  two  miles  away.  3.  Fossil  hackberry  seeds  (Celtis 
occidentalis)  and  such  gastropods  as  Pyramidula,  Succinea,  Heli- 
cina,  and  Physa  are  found  in  beds.  4.  A  study  of  the  physiography 
of  the  mounds  makes  clear  that  they  occur  along  the  divide  between 
streams,  and  that  their  arrangement  and  individual  forms  are  char- 
acteristic of  the  remnants  of  stream  cutting. 

"Chemical  and  mineralogical  study  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  paleon- 
tological  and  physiographical  investigations,  indicate  that  the  mounds 
are  the  remnants  of  the  glacial  and  alluvial  deposits  which  at  one 
time  filled  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  River  in  this  region. 

"It  may  be  well  to  inquire  if  all  so-called  mounds  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  are  not  natural  topographic  forms." 

Doctor  Crook  held  to  the  same  view  in  subsequent  pa- 
pers' until  May,  1922,  when  he  published  a  bulletin  on  "The 
Origin  of  the  Cahokia  Mounds"  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Illinois  State  Museum.  In  this  bulletin,  which  was  written 
following  a  field  conference  between  him  and  the  present 
writer  when  several  of  the  mounds  were  excellently  exposed 
for  study,  he  inclines  strongly  towards  the  artificial  theory 
of  origin  and  has  since  definitely  expressed  himself  in  favor 
of  that  theory.^ 


"'The  Composition  and  Origin  of  Monk's  Mound,"  Trans.  III.  Acad,  of  Set.,  Vol. 
9,  1916,  pp.  82-84;  Additional  Note  on  Monks  Mound,  Bull.  Geol.  Soc.  Amer.,  Vol. 
29,  1918,  pp.  80,  81. 

'Remarks  before  the  Section  of  Geology  and  Geography,  Illinois  Academy  of 
Science,  Galesburg  meeting,  1923. 


GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  MOUNDS 

Our  chief  concern  in  this  connection  will  be  to  fix  our 
attention  upon  those  points  which  are  of  significance  in 
the  question  of  the  origin  of  the  mounds.  The  reader  whose 
interest  carries  him  into  archeological  questions  and  in- 
terpretations is  referred  to  (i)  Part  I  of  the  present  vol- 
ume, (2)  a  preliminary  paper  on  the  Cahokia  Mounds  by 
Warren  K.  Moorehead,  and  (3)  the  bibliography  at  the 
end  of  Part  I.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  reader  is  in- 
terested in  a  brief  summary  of  the  geologic  evidences  and 
conclusions  he  is  referred  to  the  summary  statement  at  the 
close  of  this  paper.  The  discussion  which  now  follows  is  a 
rather  detailed  treatment  of  the  geologic  aspects  of  the 
mounds  so  far  as  they  have  been  examined. 

Number,  Size,  and  Shape 

Some  eighty  mounds  have  been  mapped  within  a  radius 
of  about  ilA  miles,  and  more  widely  scattered  mounds  are 
to  be  found  in  adjacent  territory.  Monks  Mound  domi- 
nates them  all.  It  stands  about  100  feet  high  above  the 
plain,  and  the  longer  side  of  its  rectangular  base  is  about 
1000  feet  and  its  shorter  side  about  700  feet.  An  inspec- 
tion of  the  map,  Plate  XXII,  will  show  approximately  the 
comparative  sizes  in  ground  plan  of  the  rest  of  the  impor- 
tant mounds.  The  smallest  mounds  are  mere  swells  of  the 
surface  and  are  not  shown  on  the  map.  In  shape  the  mounds 
range  from  pyramidal  forms,  with  nearly  rectangular 
bases,  to  elongate  ovoid  and  conical  forms.  Rain-wash  and 
farming  have  modified  some  of  the  pyramidal  mounds  and 
given  them  sub-rectangular  to  sub-oval  basal  outlines.  Some 
are  flat-topped  and,  as  in  No.  48,  have  sufficient  summit 
area  for  a  residence  site.  Practically  all  of  the  mounds 
which  are  large  enough  to  attract  attention  have  a  distinct 
artificiality  in  their  regularity  of  form  and  steepness  of 
slope  (Plates  XIX,  XX).  They  lack  the  irregularity  in 
ground  plan  and  the  wide  range  in  summit  area  so  char- 
acteristic of  erosional  remnants  and  they  show  no  meander 

67 


68  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

scars  at  their  bases  or  on  their  slopes.  They  are  but 
little  sculptured  by  slope-wash — Monks  Mound  the  most 
of  all — which  speaks  for  their  recency  geologically,  altho 
they  may  be  rather  ancient  historically.  Some  of  the  larger 
mounds,  those  about  30  or  35  feet  high  in  the  vicinity  of 
Monks  Mound,  show  some  accordance  of  level. 

Monks  Mound 
Monks  Mound  has  some  peculiarities  of  form  worth  not- 
ing, which  were  faithfully  described  by  McAdams :' 

"On  the  southern  end,  some  30  feet  above  the  base  is  a  terrace  or 
apron,  containing  nearly  two  acres  of  ground  (Plate  XXI).  On  the 
western  side,  and  some  thirty  feet  above  the  first  terrace,  is  a  second 
one  of  somewhat  less  extent.  The  top  of  the  mound  is  flat  and  divided 
into  two  parts,  the  northern  end  being  some  4  or  5  feet  higher  than 
the  southern  portion.  The  summit  contains  about  an  acre  and  a  half. 
Near  the  middle  of  the  first  terrace,  at  the  base  of  the  mound,  is  a  pro- 
jecting point,  apparently  the  remains  of  a  graded  pathway  to  ascend 
from  the  plain  to  the  terrace.  The  west  side  of  the  mound  below  the 
second  terrace  is  very  irregular,  and  forms  projecting  knobs,  sepa- 
rated by  deep  ravines,  probably  the  result  of  rain-storms. . . .  The  re- 
mammg  sides  of  the  structure  are  quite  straight  and  but  little  defaced 
by  the  hand  of  time." 

It  should  be  added  that  on  the  north  side,  there  are  pro- 
jecting spurs,  50  to  100  feet  long  and  30  to  50  feet  high. 
Some  have  horizontal  summits,  while  others  are  sloping 
and  have  the  form  of  approaches.  This  is  the  most  abrupt 
side  and  some  gullying  has  no  doubt  taken  place.  On  the 
east  side  there  is  some  evidence  of  creep  of  considerable 
masses  of  material  and  deposition  at  the  base  of  the  mound 
of  material  washed  down  from  above. 

The  present  writer's  impression  of  the  form  of  this  huge 
mound  with  its  platforms  and  approaches  is  in  harmony 
with  that  of  Dr.  Fenneman,  that  it  "plainly  indicates  the 
work  of  man  and  not  of  geologic  processes."' 

Arrangement  of  the  Mounds 
There  are  certain  significant  points  regarding  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  mounds,    (i)  The  elongate  mounds  are,  in 

^Records  of  Ancient  Races  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  St.  Louis,  1887. 
^Geology  a?id  Mineral  Resources  of  the  St.  Louis  Quadrangle,  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey  Bull.  348,  191 1,  p.  12. 


i 


General  Description  of  the  Mounds 


69 


NORTH   GROUP 


'CAHOKIA^ROUP 

.'I 

r 

'^tl 

/   .■     /\ 

f  ^ 

0           12 
I '  ' 


Scale  in  miles 


;FiG.  8 — Map  showing  the  location  of  the  Cahokia  Group.     (After  David   I.  Biishnell,  Jr., 

Smithsonian  Institution) 


70  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

most  instances,  oriented  with  respect  to  the  cardinal  points 
of  the  compass,  either  north-south  or  east-west.  (2)  Some 
have  a  striking  alignment,  as  for  example,  Nos.  19  to  26 
and  6  to  1 1  (see  Plate  XXII ) ,  and  this  alignment  as  well  as 
their  orientation  carries  the  aspect  much  more  of  the 
human  mode  of  origin  than  by  ordinary  physiographic 
processes.  (3)  The  grouping  of  the  mounds  on  the  Ameri- 
can Bottom  is  shown  in  Fig.  8.  This  grouping,  as  well  as 
the  alignment  and  elongation,  is  not  in  harmony  with  the 
theory  of  terrace  remnants  or  any  other  physiographic 
origin  to  which  they  can  tenably  be  referred. 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  SETTING  OF  THE  MOUNDS 

Topographic  Position 

The  American  Bottom. — The  Cahokia  Mounds  are  situ- 
ated upon  the  great  flood-plan  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
known  as  the  great  American  Bottom,  some  four  miles 
northeast  of  the  center  of  East  St.  Louis  (Fig.  8).  The 
mounds  off"er  the  only  relief  possessed  by  this  extensive  flat 
except  the  valley  bluffs  which  bound  it.  Before  the  artificial 
levees  were  built,  large  portions  of  the  flood-plain  were 
subject  to  the  highest  floods,  but  so  far  as  the  writer  could 
learn  there  has  been  no  time  in  the  history  of  the  settlement 
by  white  man  that  all  of  it  was  under  flood-waters.  Even 
today,  with  the  artificial  levees,  the  flood-waters  back  up 
into  some  of  the  abandoned  channels  previously  occupied 
by  the  Mississippi  River,  as  for  example  the  old  channel 
now  followed  by  Cahokia  Creek,  in  its  wanderings  across 
the  plain. 

The  highest  known  flood-level  of  the  Mississippi  River  at 
St.  Louis  was  in  1844,'  when  the  waters  rose  7.58  feet  above 
the  city  directrix,  reaching  an  altitude  of  420.3 1  feet  above 
sea-level.  According  to  the  topographic  map  of  the  St. 
Louis  quadrangle,  published  by  the  U.  S.  Geological  Sur- 
vey, involving  the  site  of  the  Cahokia  Mounds,  there  are 
considerable  areas  above  the  420-foot  level  along  the  foot 
of  the  east  valley  wall  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Granite  City. 
Monks  Mound  and  a  few  others  nearby  are  on  a  slight 
swell  a  little  above  420  feet,  but  the  surface  surrounding 
most  of  the  others  appears  to  be  somewhat  under  that  level. 
Hence,  it  is  thought  that  many  of  the  mounds  were  sur- 
rounded by  this  flood.  The  flood  of  1903,  2  or  3  feet  below 
that  of  1844,  reached  and  covered  the  low  sags  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  mounds. 

The  valley  has  a  maximum  width  of  about  12  miles 
just  north  of  Granite  City  and  a  minimum  of  3^  miles 
south  of  the  village  of  Cahokia.  In  the  latitude  of  the 
mounds  it  is  about  9^   miles  wide.    The  valley  flat  is 

'Woodward's  The  Saint  Louis  Bridge,  G.  C.  Jones  and  Co.,  Publishers,  St. 
Louis,  1 88 1,  p.  2. 

71 


72  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

traversed  by  many  old  channels — former  courses  of  the 
Mississippi  River — showing  that  many  shiftings  have  taken 
place  in  recent  geological  times,  and  the  existence  of  ox- 
bow lakes  in  several  of  these  indicate  an  occupancy  so 
recent  geologically  that  they  have  not  yet  been  filled.  Be- 
sides the  distinct  abandoned  channels,  faint  sags  appar- 
ently represent  earlier  channels. 

The  East  Valley  Wall. — The  east  valley  wall  rises  from 
150  to  200  feet  above  the  valley  flat.  It  is  generally 
a  distinct  bluff,  notably  steep  in  spite  of  the  weak  resist- 
ance of  the  Coal  Measures  shale  and  Pleistocene  clays  of 
which  it  is  chiefly  composed,  and  surprisingly  steep  when 
the  width  of  the  valley  is  considered.  This  has  an  impor- 
tant bearing  upon  the  activity  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
making  it  clear  that  this  great  stream  frequently  shifts  its 
course,  geologically  speaking,  striking  the  valley  wall  here 
and  there  and  preventing  weathering,  slope-wash,  and  creep 
from  making  the  slope  gentle. 

The  Alluvial  Filling 

Thickness  and  Characteristics. — The  filling  of  the  val- 
ley is  considerable;  the  bedrock  floor  lies  deep.  The  upper 
10  to  12  feet  is  mud  and  clay,  beneath  which  is  50  to  100 
feet  of  sand  with  subordinate  beds  or  lenses  of  clay  and 
gravel,  and  gravel  and  boulders  at  the  base.'  The  position 
of  the  bouldery  material  at  the  base  has  a  special  signifi- 
cance. Great  changes  in  the  volume  of  the  stream  take 
place  in  response  to  heavy  rainfall  or  rapid  melting  of  snow 
over  the  large  basin  which  the  river  drains,  and  this  greatly 
modifies  the  velocity  and  the  stream's  transporting  power. 
At  St.  Louis,  the  velocity  of  the  Mississippi  River  has  been 
known  to  vary  from  2^  miles  per  hour  at  low  water  to 
8^  miles  per  hour  at  high  water,  or  three-fold.  In  time  of 
high  flood,  therefore,  the  stream  scours  deeply,  probably 
reaching  and  abrading  the  bedrock,  making  it  necessar}^ 
for  the  piers  of  the  bridges  at  St.  Louis  to  be  sunk  into  the 
rock.   When  the  excavations  were  made  by  the  engineers 

'Fenneman,  N.  M.,  The  Physiography  of  the  St.  Louis  Area,  111.  State  Geol. 
Survey  Bull.  12,  p.  6,  1909. 


The  Geological  Setting  of  the  Mounds  73 

for  the  St.  Louis  bridge,  and  the  bed-rock  was  laid  bare, 
the  rock  surface  was  found  to  be  smooth  and  water-worn 
and  to  be  overlain  by  the  heavier  debris  of  river  floods.' 
There  have  been  known  instances  of  scour  reaching  nearly 
100  feet.  The  larger  materials  are  moved  at  a  slower  rate 
than  the  smaller,  and  are  the  first  to  be  deposited,  upon 
the  slackening  of  the  current  during  the  ebb  of  the  flood. 
Altho  the  scouring  is  probably  local  in  the  bed  of  the 
channel  during  any  one  flood,  yet  in  successive  floods  all 
points  along  the  channel  may  become  affected. 

The  Age  of  the  Alluvial  Filling. — In  view  of  (i)  the 
scouring  action  of  this  great  stream  along  its  present  chan- 
nel and  the  alternate  play  of  scour  and  fill;  (2)  the  abun- 
dant evidence  that  in  the  past  the  stream  has  had  almost 
every  conceivable  position  on  the  valley-flat;  (3)  the  lat- 
eral shifting  of  the  meanders,  cutting  on  the  outside  of  the 
curves  and  filling  on  the  inside;  (4)  the  length  of  post- 
glacial time  having  probably  been  sufficiently  long  for  this 
great  stream  working  in  loose  and  fine  materials  to  plane 
the  full  width  of  the  valley  several  times,  and  (5)  the  grada- 
tion from  bottom  to  top  of  coarse  to  fine,  it  would  appear 
that  the  larger  part  if  not  all  of  the  present  alluvial  filling 
has  been  worked  over  and  repeatedly  shifted  down-stream 
and  that  its  present  position  is  due  to  the  action  of  the 
stream  in  the  Recent  epoch.  It  is  in  a  transitory  state  of 
rest ;  it  is  the  "potential"  load  of  the  present  stream.  There- 
fore, it  seems  proper  to  regard  it  as  chiefly  post-glacial 
in  age. 

Remnants  of  the  Original  Glacial  Filling 

Inasmuch  as  this  portion  of  the  Mississippi  River  received 
glacial  drainage  from  more  than  2,000  miles  of  ice  front  of 
the  Wisconsin  Glacier — from  the  basin  of  Illinois  River  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains — it  would  be  expected  that  the  val- 
ley here  would  show  evidence  of  fill,  provided  it  was  given 
more  load  than  it  could  carry ;  and  since  this  locality  was 
far  from  the  ice  edge,  that  such  a  filling  would  be  composed 
dominantly  of  fine  material ;  and  further,  that  since  the 

^Woodward,  op.  cit.,  page  5. 


74  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

volume  of  the  glacial  waters  varied  greatly  between  the 
winter  and  summer  seasons,  the  glacial  Mississippi  be- 
haved much  as  the  modern  Mississippi,  only  on  a  much 
larger  scale ;  and  moreover,  that  since  the  suspended  load 
and  bed-load  were  probably  greater,  the  amount  of  filling 
during  the  recession  of  floods  would  average  greater  and 
the  average  level  of  the  flood-plain  would  be  higher. 

Evidence  of  such  a  condition  appears  to  exist  chiefly  in 
the  mouths  of  some  of  the  tributaries, — Canteen  Creek  and 
Prairie  du  Pont  Creek,  where  alluvial  terraces  are  found, 
some  of  them  rising  40  to  60  feet  above  the  Mississippi 
valley  flat.  The  material  of  these  terraces,  however,  is 
probably  not  so  much  that  brought  down  by  the  Mississippi 
River  as  that  washed  down  from  the  uplands  and  depos- 
ited in  the  back-water  of  the  tributaries  due  to  filling  in 
the  main  valley.  But  in  either  case  they  seem  to  record  a 
former  higher  filling  in  the  main  valley  than  now  exists, 
which  is  the  significant  point  in  this  connection. 

This  period  of  aggradation  was  brought  to  a  close  by 
the  melting  back  of  the  ice  into  the  basins  of  the  Great 
Lakes  and  Lake  Agassiz.  From  these  bodies  of  water  three 
great  streams  of  relatively  clear  water  combined  and 
formed  a  Mississippi  of  more  constant  volume  than  before. 
Just  how  the  amount  of  this  water  would  compare  with  the 
maximum  summer  floods  which  had  been  coming  down  the 
valley  from  the  glacier  before  the  lakes  came  into  existence 
is  problematical,  for,  on  the  one  hand  the  length  of  the  ice 
front  was  now  much  less,  and  on  the  other  the  climate  was 
becoming  warmer  and  the  rate  of  melting  greater.  An  im- 
portant point  to  keep  in  mind  tho  is  this.  The  waters  from 
Lake  Chicago  and  its  contributary  area  to  the  east,  the 
waters  from  Lake  Superior,  and  the  waters  from  Lake 
Agassiz  formed  a  stream  of  very  large  volume,  with  less 
fluctuation  than  when  the  drainage  came  direct  from  the 
ice,  and  since  most  of  the  sediment  had  been  dropped  in  the 
lakes,  the  outflowing  waters  were  much  less  loaded. 

This  condition  of  flow  lasted  during  the  building  of 
several  recessional  moraines  and  a  corresponding  number 


The  Geological  Setting  of  the  Mounds  75 

of  periods  of  ice  recession,'  probably  resulting  in  a  lower- 
ing of  the  former  glacial  flood-plain,  and  probably  to  a 
level  considerably  below  the  present  plain.  Indeed,  the  pre- 
vious fill  may  have  been  entirely  swept  away  and  the  rock- 
floor  subjected  to  abrasion,  but  this  cannot  be  affirmed. 

Post-Glacial  Conditions 

With  (i)  the  melting  away  of  the  ice  from  the  basin  of 
Mississippi  River,  (2)  the  establishment  of  the  outlet  of 
the  Great  Lakes  by  way  of  St.  Lawrence  River,  (3)  the 
disappearance  of  Lake  Agassiz,  and  (4)  the  melting  of 
most  of  the  contributing  Alpine  glaciers  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  drainage  conditions  of  the  Mississippi  River 
assumed  approximately  their  present  proportions  and  vari- 
ations. Inheriting  the  low  gradient  of  the  preceding  epoch, 
the  Mississippi  of  smaller  volume  must  have  built  up  its 
flood-plain  to  its  present  level. 

The  widespread  distribution  of  abandoned  channels 
and  the  absence  of  any  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  present 
stream  to  break  up  into  distributaries  indicate  that  the 
present  flood-plain  is  essentially  at  grade  or  some  of  it  is 
slightly  above  grade  because  of  the  present  fairly  straight 
course  of  the  stream.  Before  the  stream  assumed  its  pres- 
ent course,  it  meandered  widely,  as  the  abandoned  chan- 
nels and  ox-bow  lakes  indicate.  Under  those  conditions 
much  of  the  present  flood-plain  was  formed.  With  the 
stream  subsequently  assuming  the  present  nearly  straight 
course,  probably  at  a  time  of  widespread  overflow,  its 
gradient  became  higher  and  its  transporting  power  greater, 
enabling  it  to  develop  a  narrow  flood-plain  adjacent  to  the 
channel  slightly  below  the  rest  of  the  valley  flat,  thereby 
reducing  for  the  present  the  chances  and  the  frequency  of 
widespread  flooding  other  than  in  the  old  abandoned  chan- 
nels and  adjacent  low  areas. 

'Some  of  the  recessional  moraines  are  known  to  have  been  built  after  a  re- 
advance  of  the  ice  following  an  unknown  amount  of  melting  back,  but  the  volume  of 
water  was  doubtless  less  during  the  advance  of  the  ice  than  during  the  retreat. 


76  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

Bearing  Upon  the  Age  and  Origin  of  the 
Cahokia  Mounds 

(i)  The  enormous  scour  and  fill  of  the  Mississippi  during 
the  rise  and  ebb  of  floods ;  (2)  the  fact  that  the  stream  has 
shifted  to  many  different  positions  over  the  valley  flat; 
(3)  the  fact  that  this  shifting  has  been  so  frequent  that 
abandoned  channels  of  the  second  or  third  stages  back  are 
not  entirely  filled  before  another  shift  takes  place;  (4)  the 
absence  of  any  remnants  of  filling  which  clearly  correspond 
to  the  terraces  in  the  mouths  of  some  of  the  tributaries; 
and  (5)  the  fact  that  the  mounds  do  not  show  the  scars 
of  meander  curves  on  their  slopes  or  at  their  base  as  they 
would  if  they  were  remnants  of  a  former  higher  fill, — when 
we  consider  these  things,  it  appears  doubtful  that  the 
mounds  are  either  natural  or  that  they  are  as  old  as  the 
present  valley  flat. 

If  this  conclusion  is  correct,  the  mounds  themselves 
should  reveal  this  in  their  constitution;  should  have  no 
nuclei  of  natural  origin,  and  should  rest  upon  alluvial  ma- 
terials as  a  foundation.  We  may  well  give  our  attention  to 
this  phase  of  the  question. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  MOUNDS 

There  was  opportunity  to  study  the  character  and  struc- 
ture of  the  material  in  four  mounds,  and  as  a  matter  of 
record,  these  will  be  discussed  separately.  These  mounds 
were:  the  James  Ramey  Mound,  No.  33  ;  the  Albert  Kun- 
nemann  Mound,  No.  16;  the  Sam  Chucallo  Mound;  and 
the  Sawmill  Mound,  No.  39.  As  will  be  seen  from  Plate 
XXII,  these  mounds  are  widely  spaced  and  are  fairly  rep- 
resentative of  the  mounds  which  range  in  height  from  12 
to  35  feet.  The  James  Ramey  Mound,  No.  33,  situated  a 
quarter  mile  east  of  Monks  Mound,  was  the  most  thoroly 
opened  and  examined  in  the  greatest  detail. 

The  James  Ramey  Mound,  No.  33 
This  mound  was  trenched  through  its  center  in  a  north- 
south  direction,  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  surrounding  val- 
ley flat  and  a  fine  opportunity  was  presented  for  ascertain- 
ing the  composition,  degree  of  assortment,  arrangement  of 
the  materials  and  their  relations  to  the  materials  of  the 
valley  flat. 

General  Description  of  the  West  Face. — In  the  west 
face  (Fig.  9),  Formation  i  is  made  up  chiefly  of  yellowish 
sand  with  balls  and  irregularly  shaped  inclusions  of  dark 
silt  scattered  through  it.  It  is  unstratified  and  has  the 
spotted  and  lumpy  appearance  of  man-made  fills.  It  is  cut 
off  abruptly  at  the  south  end.  Formation  2  is  a  mixed  gray 
and  yellowish  silt  and  sand  with  scattered  charcoal  frag- 
ments. The  upper  surface  is  strongly  undulating.  At  (a) 
is  a  reddish  brown  horizon  having  every  appearance  of  hav- 
ing been  the  site  of  a  bonfire.  Charcoal  fragments  occur  in 
the  material.  Formation  3  is  a  mixed  gray  and  yellowish 
silt  and  sand  with  included  masses  such  as  is  shown  in  the 
figure.  In  the  north  end  is  a  peculiar  mixed  mass,  (c),  and 
a  filling  in  a  well-defined  cut-out,  (b).  At  (a)  is  another 
apparently  burned  horizon  with  charcoal  fragments  associ- 
ated with  it.  Formation  4  is  a  yellowish  sand  with  an 
abundance  of  charcoal  fragments  up  to  13^  inches  in  diam- 

77 


78 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 


c 

3 
O      . 

^^'^^ 
S  ^ 

o 

a  ^^ 
^  o 

'S  a. 

*-'  rt 
1)  o 
+-> 

(L)  U 
(J     (U 


«      ^ 


(U 


^  a 


o  G 


m    > 

s  ^ 

re  3 
^  rr" 
60  S, 


Constitution  of  the  Mounds  79 

eter.  Formation  5  is  finely  stratified  sand  about  8  inches 
thick — the  only  clear  case  of  water  stratification  in  the 
section.  It  ends  bluntly  at  its  northern  end  and  pinches 
out  at  its  southern.  Formation  6  is  a  fine  yellowish  sand 
with  bits  of  charcoal.  Formation  7  is  a  well-defined  horizon 
with  an  apparent  burned  horizon  at  its  south  end.  Forma- 
tion 8  is  a  fine  grayish  yellow  sand  with  some  small  lumps. 
Throughout  the  whole  section  bones  and  pottery,  artifacts 
of  flint,  and  angular  fragments  of  travertine  and  charcoal 
were  found,  varyingly  oriented.  Near  the  center  of  the  cut 
a  boring  was  put  down  with  a  post-hole  digger,  and  at  a 
depth  of  about  20  feet  from  the  top  of  the  mound,  a  fairly 
large  piece  of  charcoal  and  a  piece  of  pottery  were  found. 
Another  boring  yielded  bones  and  pottery  at  a  depth  of 
18  to  19  feet.  Regarding  the  occurrence  of  human  skeletal 
remains  in  this  and  other  mounds,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
Part  I  of  this  publication. 

Detailed  Description  of  a  Vertical  Section  in  two  Di- 
mensions.— A  chimney-like  section,  3  feet  square,  was  dug 
in  the  west  face  of  the  main  trench  and  a  detailed  sketch 
and  description  were  made  of  the  south  and  west  sides  of 
this  section.    (Fig.  10.)    The  description  follows: 

Thickness 
Feet 

7.  Fine  grayish  yellow  sand,  with  lumps  of  gray  clay  which 
give  a  spotted  effect;  a  few  small  fragments  of  charcoal 
up  to  %  inch  in  diameter;  the  material  effervesces  to 
the  surface  altho  it  is  dark  in  the  upper  3  to  4  inches    2  to  3 

6.  Interlayered  dark  and  light  fine  sand  and  sandy  silt,  the 
lower  portion  with  many  charcoal  fragments,  a  scat- 
tering in  the  upper  part;  layers  discontinuous  and 
horizontal  in  the  south  face,  dipping  southward  in  the 
west  face;  a  few  fragments  of  bones  (one  a  bone  of  a 
bird) ;  some  fragments  of  pottery 2^ 

5.  Mottled  fine  silty  sand  in  indefinite  layers;  a  heterogene- 
ous mixture  of  highly  calcareous  and  slightly  calcare- 
ous material  with  no  indication  of  secondary  concen- 
tration or  differential  solution;  no  assorting;  a  few 
tiny  particles  of  charcoal 3^ 

4.  Dark  clay  layer,  something  like  gumbo,  with  fragments 

of  pottery  and  charcoal;  thickness ^ 


8o 


FmI 
0-, 

1  - 

2  - 

3  - 

4  - 
6 


T=10 


15- 


20- 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 

South  fac«  West  t«o« 

To 


1 


3        4 


Scale  in  feet 

Fig.  lo. — Diagrammatic  sketch  of  a  chimney  section  made 
in  the  west  face  of  trench,  James  Ramey  Mound. 


Constitution  of  the  Mounds  8i 

3.  Mostly  dark  fine  sandy  silt  with  light  mottling,  some 
brownish  clay;  irregular  lenses  and  balls  of  the  light 
colored  silt  in  a  dark  matrix,  and  lenses  and  balls  of 
the  dark  in  the  light;  the  light  parts  are  more  cal- 
careous than  the  dark;  a  few  charcoal  and  pottery 
fragments 5^ 

2.  Fine  stratified  silty  sand,  yellowish  gray;  calcareous; 
charcoal  fragments  mostly  minute  but  two  fragments 
up  to  I  inch;  layers  of  sediment  thin,  numbering  3  or 
4  to  the  inch.  These  beds  fade  out  to  the  east,  chang- 
ing upward  to  mixed  material  as  if  the  stratified  por- 
tion were  deposited  in  a  local  pool  in  the  mound..  .  1 

I.  Massive  dark  gray  silt,  no  stratification,  scattered  specks 

of  charcoal,   non-calcareous i^ 

Special  Features  of  the  West  Face. — Bones  and  frag- 
ments of  pottery  were  found  throughout  the  vertical  section 
of  the  mound.  In  the  west  face  of  the  trench  was  found  a 
linear  series  of  holes,  about  30  in  number  in  a  distance  of 
23  feet,  most  of  them  less  than  6  inches  in  diameter  and 
about  2  feet  in  depth.  Altho  they  had  been  completely 
covered  over  by  at  least  9  feet  of  earth,  the  holes  were  only 
partly  filled  with  dirt.  In  the  bottom  of  many  of  them 
occurred  brown  decayed  bone;  a  small  leg  bone  of  a  bird 
was  still  preserved.  It  appeared  that  originally  the  holes 
had  been  filled  with  bones  before  the  overlying  earth  was 
put  on  and  later  the  bones  decomposed  leaving  the  holes 
unfilled  and  a  residue  of  bone  material  in  the  bottom.  The 
series  trended  nearly  due  north-south  and  while  most  of 
the  holes  were  vertical,  a  few  slanted  10  degrees  from  the 
vertical.  The  full  series  was  not  entirely  uncovered,  for 
the  north  end  curved  slightly  west  of  north  into  the  west 
face.  Such  features  must  be  human  in  their  origin. 

General  Description  of  the  East  Face. — A  section 
of  the  east  face  is  shown  in  Fig.  11.  A-A'  is  a  well 
defined  horizontal  horizon  marked  by  burned  lenses 
(b)  and  short  stretches  of  coarse  sand  (c).  The  burned 
lenses  are  lYi  inches  in  maximum  thickness  and  up  to  3 
feet  long.  They  are  reddest  in  the  center  with  charcoal 
fragments  immediately  beneath  and  at  the  ends.  The  ma- 
terials, including  the  sands,  effervesce  with  acid.    Below 


82 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 


Pi 


Constitution  of  the  Mounds  83 

the  sharp  horizon  is  Formation  i,  a  dark,  fairly  compact 
silt,  irregularly  layered  and  with  greenish  lenses  and  some 
yellow  sand  la)^ers.  In  this  case  the  dark  is  distinctly  less 
calcareous  than  the  light,  and  charcoal  is  generally  scat- 
tered through  them.  Above  the  sharp  horizon,  is  Forma- 
tion 2,  a  fine  sandy  silt  mottled  dark  and  light,  arranged 
without  order  in  irregular  lenses,  balls  and  masses  up  to  4 
inches  in  diameter.  Both  the  light  and  the  dark  are  cal- 
careous, and  charcoal  fragments  are  scattered  through 
them  promiscuously.  Bones  and  fragments  of  pottery 
were  found  from  bottom  to  top  of  the  section.  A  large 
marine  shell  was  uncovered  near  the  west  end  3  or  4  feet 
below  the  surface.  Similar  shells  were  found  in  other  parts 
of  the  mound,  one  at  a  depth  of  17  feet. 

The  mound  was  about  23  feet  high.  At  a  depth  of  19^^ 
feet,  pottery,  bones,  and  flint  were  found,  some  of  them  on 
end.  The  containing  matrix  was  a  fine,  sandy  silt,  gray 
with  brownish  tinge  and  slightly  calcareous.  A  fragment 
of  calcareous  tufa  and  a  one-inch  fragment  of  charcoal, 
which  clearly  exhibited  the  structure  of  the  original  wood 
were  found  at  the  18-foot  level.  All  of  the  material,  save 
for  a  thin  lens  of  finely  stratified  sand,  had  the  appearance 
of  having  been  dumped,  mixed,  and  spread  by  human  agen- 
cies.  It  was  indeed  a  motley  mixture. 

Significant  Features  Common  to  Both  Sides  of  the 
Trench. —  (i)  The  materials  are  not  stratified  or  assorted 
like  waterlaid  sediments,  except  as  above  mentioned,  tho 
they  have  a  stratiform  arrangement. 

(2)  The  contacts  of  the  various  layers  are  quite  irreg- 
ular in  detail,  (figure  12),  sharp  projections  of  one  fitting 
into  the  sharp  indentations  of  another.  This  shows  that 
the  surface  upon  which  each  layer  was  spread  was  irreg- 
ular in  detail  altho  nearly  level,  and  could  not  be  due  to 
deposition  in  quiet  or  slack-water.  They  are  such  as  would 
develop  from  human  hands  spreading  silts  and  fine  sands 
over  a  surface  previously  smoothed  artificially  but  retain- 
ing minute  irregularities.  This  is  also  in  harmony  with 
the  mixed  aspect  of  the  materials. 

(3)  Some  horizons  in  the  mound  are  reddish  brown, 
with  charcoal  fragments  closely  associated.    The  reddish 


84  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

color  does  not  appear  to  be  due  to  natural  processes  of 
oxidation  in  view  of  the  presence  of  the  charcoal,  which  is 
reducing  in  its  chemical  reaction,  and  of  the  promiscuous 
and  limited  occurrence  of  material  of  reddish  color.  Its 
association  with  charcoal  would  seem,  on  the  other  hand, 
to  point  to  bonfire  oxidation. 

(4)  Both  sides  of  the  trench  show  a  content  of  bones 
of  several  forms  of  life;  shells  of  gastropods  whose  habitats 
vary  from  terrestrial,  fluviatile,  and  lacustrine  of  local  oc- 
currence to  the  large  ornate  marine  shells  from  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico;  shells  which  have  been  shaped  or  perforated 


Fig.  12 — Diagrammatic  sketch  of  the  minutely  irregular  contacts  between 
the  layers  of  fine  material  in  the  mounds. 

as  ornaments  of  utility  and  dress ;  artifacts  of  various  sorts ; 
flint  chips  which  are  at  least  in  part  refuse  of  the  Indian 
stone  arts ;  and  travertine  fragments  apparently  derived 
from  local  spring  deposits.  Many  of  these  lack  the  orien- 
tation with  the  stratiform  character  of  the  layers  which 
would  be  expected  if  they  were  alluvial  in  origin.  Such  an 
assemblage  of  "fossils,"  such  a  promiscuous  arrangement, 
and  such  a  complete  absence  of  signs  of  water  attrition  is 
decidedly  in  agreement  with  the  conception  of  an  artificial 
mode  of  origin  for  this  mound. 

The  Basal  Contact  of  the  Mound. — An  important 
question  bearing  on  the  origin  of  the  mounds  is  whether 
or  not  the  materials  of  the  surrounding  plain  pass  under 
them.  When  the  trench  through  Mound  No.  33  reached 
approximately  the  level  of  the  surface  outside  of  the 
mound,  the  writer  hoped  to  ascertain  the  exact  situation 
by  having  three  pits  dug,  two  of  them  in  the  bottom  of 
the  trench,  near  the  center  of  the  mound,  each  33^  feet 
square  and  4  feet  deep,  the  third  outside  of  the  mound. 


Constitution  of  the  Mounds  85 

190  feet  east  and  137  feet  south  of  the  center  of  the  mound, 
on  the  valley  flat,  this  pit  being  3^  feet  square  and  3^ 
feet  deep. 

The  pit  outside  of  the  mound  exposed : 

Thicku^ss 
Feet 

4.  Black  soil,  no  pebbles 3^  to  i^ 

grades  into 
3.  Non-calcareous  silt,  dirty  buff J/^ 

grades  into 

2.  Non-calcareous   silt,   yellowish,   somewhat   mottled,   one 

band  somewhat  rusty  colored,  ^  to  i  inch  wide ij^ 

1,  Sandy  silt,  non-calcareous,  yellowish,  watery i 

All  of  the  latter  section  looked  natural.  There  was 
found  no  pottery,  charcoal,  bones,  flints,  shells,  lumps,  or 
other  material  of  human  derivation,  and  neither  was  there 
any  mixing  of  materials. 

The  pit  nearest  the  center  of  the  mound  showed: 

Thickmsi 
Feet 

3.  Dark  gray,   sandy  silt,   slightly   effervescent   with   acid, 

containing  an  occasional  charcoal  fragment ^  to  ^ 

2.  Brownish   yellow    silt,    containing   old    rootlet   channels 

stained  rusty,  non-calcareous,  limonite,  and  pellets  of 
CaCOs  up  to  ^  inch;  no  distinct  stratification,  no 
charcoal  or  artifacts  here;  no  sign  of  disturbance;  has 
every  appearance  of  being  a  former  sub-soil i 

1.  Fine  silty  sand,  calcareous,  scattering  of  small  shells  of 

gastropods,  grayish  yellow  color,  some  iron  oxide  spots 

and  streaks,  no  sign  of  disturbance" 2 

The  second  pit  beneath  the  mound,  dug  8  feet  south 
and  15  feet  west  of  the  center,  starting  20  feet  below  the 
top,  showed:  ""S'" 

2.  Grayish  yellow,  fine  sandy  silt  with  old  root  canals  stained 

rusty,  very  slight  effervescence  with  acid,  apparently 

an  old  sub-soil ij^ 

I.  Yellowish  gray,  fine  sand,  calcareous,  after  striking  water 

the  sand  behaved  like  quicksand 2J[/2 

These  materials  were  all  undisturbed  and  had  every 
aspect  of  being  natural.  They  seem  to  be  without  question 
the  materials  of  the  flood-plain  passing  under  the  mound. 


86 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 


The  Albert  Kunnemann  Mound,  No.  i6 

About  ^  of  a  mile  north  of  Monks  Mound,  on  the  north 
side  of  Cahokia  Creek,  is  a  large  mound  known  as  the 
Albert  Kunnemann  Mound.  Along  a  part  of  the  north 
side  of  this  mound,  an  excavation  was  made  giving  a  fairly 
abrupt  face  60  feet  long  and  30  feet  high,  the  lower  10  to 
15  feet  being  covered.  The  arrangement  of  the  materials  is 
shown  in  figure  13.  Upon  cursor>'  inspection  they  appear 
to  constitute  a  stratified  deposit,  but  inasmuch  as  a  de- 


Feet 

0-, 


6- 


•  10- 


>  90- 


East 


20 


90J 


Top 


mound 


Scale  In  feet 


Fig.  13 — Diagrammatic  sketch  showing  the  arrangement  of  the 
materials  in  the  Albert  Kunnemann  Mound. 

tailed  examination  revealed  the  structure  to  merely 
simulate  stratification,  the  details  are  deserving  of  some 
attention.  The  appearance  of  stratification  is  due  to  two 
thin  horizontal  layers,  i  and  3  in  the  diagram,  about  4  feet 
apart,  the  upper  one  having  a  position  about  14  feet  below 
the  top.  Layer  No.  i  is  a  dark  sandy  silt.  No.  3  a  black  soil- 
like material.  No  3  was  clearly  not  a  soil  in  place,  however, 
for  the  contact  with  the  underlying  materials  is  sharp.  At 
this  horizon  a  large  bowl  and  a  burned  "altar"  were  found 
by  Mr.  Moorehead  in  the  course  of  the  excavations.  Be- 
tween these  layers  is  No.  2  which  is  a  sand  containing 
broken  shells,  the  spots  being  due  to  dark  lumps  of  inco- 


Constitution  of  the  Mounds  87 

herent  sandy  silt,  which  could  hardly  have  been  handled 
by  water.  Near  the  east  end  are  oblique  black  mixed 
streaks.  The  sharp  irregular  contacts  of  the  thin  fine  lay- 
ers show  that  they  were  not  deposited  in  quiet  water  but 
were  spread  over  a  level  surface,  having  minute  irregulari- 
ties, by  some  such  agency  as  man.  Horizon  (4)  is  a  spotted 
sand  with  scattered  charcoal,  small  shells,'  pottery,  bones, 
and  chips  of  flint.  Horizon  (5)  is  a  lens  in  horizon  (4)  of 
mixed  gray  and  dark  gumbo  with  charcoal.  Its  exposed 
length  was  about  24  feet,  and  thickness  2  to  3  feet.  Hori- 
zon (6)  is  a  mixed  dark  and  gray  gumbo-like  material 
showing  no  stratification.  The  top  of  the  mound  is  now 
flat  but  it  is  reported  to  have  originally  been  some  15  feet 
higher  and  to  have  consummated  in  a  point,  the  removed 
material  having  been  scattered  over  the  adjoining  fields. 

The  materials  of  this  mound  in  their  lack  of  assort- 
ment, absence  of  water  stratification,  presence  of  man- 
made  features,  mixed  materials,  and  scattering  of  artifacts 
are  against  the  natural  theory  of  origin  and  strongly  favor 
the  artificial  theory. 

The  Sam  Chucallo  Mound 

The  Sam  Chucallo  Mound  is  situated  about  3  miles  south- 
west of  Monks  Mound  and  ^  mile  north  of  Lansdowne 
Heights  at  the  brink  of  an  old  channel. 

It  is  about  100  feet  in  diameter  and  10  to  12  feet  high 
above  the  surface  to  the  east. 

As  the  result  of  digging  an  east-west  trench  through 
the  mound,  8  feet  deep  at  the  maximum,  and  40  feet  long, 
it  was  possible  to  examine  the  materials  to  advantage.  The 
north  face  of  the  trench  showed  a  structure  as  in  figure  14. 
Most  of  the  material  is  Formation  2,  a  dark  silty  clay,  the 
color  apparently  being  due  to  humus,  and  mixed  in  the 
silty  clay  are  irregular  lumps  and  streaks  of  gray  to  dark 
gumbo  which  show  minute  rusty,  ramifying  canals  and 

*The  following  were  identified  by  Curator  F.  C.  Baker:  Gastropods:  Physa 
gyrina  Say  (a  common  fresh-water  shell  living  in  summer-dry  ponds),  Vivipara 
contectoides  W.  G.  B.  (fragments);  Pelecypod;  Anodonta  grandis  Say  (fragment); 
miscellaneous:  shell  head  of  marine  conch  (Bjisycon),  vertebra  of  small  fish. 


88 


The  Cahokia  Mounds 


imprints  of  rootlets.  The  rootlets  are  almost  gone,  but 
such  as  are  found  are  in  these  minute  canals.  Apparently 
the  oxidation  of  ferrous  compounds  was  favored  along 
these  minute  canals  by  the  ready  access  of  oxidating 
ground  water.  Intimately  mixed  with  the  gumbo  is  some 
fine  sand. 

At  the  base  of  this  motley  arrangement  of  materials  is 
Formation  i,  a  yellow  to  grayish-yellow  fine  sand,  the  con- 
tact being  nearly  level  for  most  of  the  distance  but  sloping 
and  passing  beneath  the  trench  at  the  east  and  west  ends. 


Feet 

0-1 


-5   4- 


8-1 


East 


10 


15 


Scale  In  feet 

Fig.  14 — Diagrammatic  sketch  of  the  structure  of  the  materials  in 
the  north  face  of  the  trench,  Sam  Chucallo  Mound. 

Mixed  with  this  sand  in  heterogeneous  fashion  are  lumps 
of  black  soil,  and  the  sand  itself  is  a  mixture  of  calcareous 
and  non-calcareous  materials.  It  contains  snail  shells,' 
some  in  fragments,  some  soft,  and  some  mashed.  All  of  the 
aspects  of  this  sand  layer  are  unlike  those  of  deposits  made 
by  natural  agencies  and  like  those  made  by  man. 

The  south  face  shows  the  same  sequence  and  mixing, 
but  the  sand  layer.  No.  i,  at  the  bottom  is  a  little  lower 
than  in  the  north  face,  and  near  the  center  the  sand  layer 
is  interrupted  sharply  by  gumbo  and  black  silty  clay.  (See 

'The  following  species  were  identified  by  Curator  F.  C.  Baker:  Gastropods: 
Planorbis  trivolvis  Say,  Lymnaea  palustris  (Miiller).  Segmentvia  armigera  (Say). 
Helicodiscus  parallelus  (Say).  The  first  three  snails  live  in  small  ponds  which  may 
become  wholly  or  partially  dry  in  summer;  the  fourth  one  is  a  land  snail  living 
near  water. 


Constitution  of  the  Mounds 


89 


Figure  15.)  A  human  skeleton  was  found  just  below,  at 
about  8  feet  below  the  summit  of  the  mound.  Clearly, 
after  the  sand  was  accumulated  there  by  man,  the  sand 
was  cut  into  for  burial  purposes,  and  it  appears  that  the 
overlying  material  was  brought  there  and  dumped,  thereby 
increasing  the  height  of  the  mound. 

The  Sawmill  Mound,  No.  39 

A  low  mound  about  1000  feet  northwest  of  Monks  Mound, 
on  the  south  side  of  Cahokia  Creek,  was  opened  for  a  depth 


0- 


»- 


EaM 


Top ol wound 


8-J 


Scale  in  fe«( 


Fig.  15 — Diagrammatic  sketch  of  the  structure  of  the  materials  in  the  south 
face  of  the  trench,  Sam  Chicalo  Mound. 

somewhat  below  the  ground-water  level  for  wet  seasons. 
About  13  feet  was  exposed.  The  upper  3  to  5  feet  consist 
of  gumbo  material  with  a  few  small  fragments  of  charcoal 
and  pottery,  and  lumps  of  yellow  sandy  silt.  Below  this 
are  yellowish  stratified  sandy  silts,  the  layers  having  very 
irregular  contacts,  dipping  to  the  east,  and  showing  lumps 
of  dark  incoherent  silt  up  to  1^/2  inches.  The  materials  are 
somewhat  calcareous  in  spots,  but  at  no  particular  horizon. 
The  arrangement  of  the  materials  has  every  aspect  of  being 
due  to  human  dumping. 

Auger  Borings  on  Monks  Mound 

The  size  of  Monks  Mound  forbade  any  extensive  explora- 
tory work  and  hence  no  decisive  evidence  was  obtained 


90  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

regarding  its  constitution.  Its  artificial  form,  however, 
invited  some  investigation  to  determine  the  trend  of  the 
evidence,  and  altho  it  is  reaHzed  that  borings  are  not  con- 
clusive, yet  it  was  felt  that  they  would  show  something. 
Three  borings  were  made  on  the  summit  and  two  on  the 
east  slope,  by  means  of  an  auger  1^4  inches  in  diameter, 
attached  to  sections  which  permitted  penetration  to  a  depth 
of  173/2  feet.  By  digging  pits  3  feet  deep,  the  total  depth 
penetrated  on  the  summit  was  20^  feet.  Samples  were 
laid  out  in  succession  and  carefully  examined  and  de- 
scribed. 

Boring  No.  i. — A  pit  3  feet  deep  was  dug  on  the  summit 
near  the  north  end,  which  showed  black  soil  with  charcoal 
and  fragments  of  pottery  at  the  bottom.  The  boring  was 
started  in  the  bottom  of  this  pit,  and  the  following  materi- 
als were  revealed : 

Thickmss 
Feet 

3.  Sandy  silt,  dark,  with  i  to  2  inch  streaks  of  fine  sand, 

light  gray  in  color,  some  of  the  dark  shows  mixing 
with  the  light,^  resembling  the  exposed  materials  in 

the   smaller   mounds 8 

Changes  to 

2.  Fine  sand,  dirty  buff,  loose;  a  little  ochre-sand 3 

1.  Grayish  yellow  sand,  showing  a  little  admixture  of  dark 

silt  and  some  thin  streaks  of  light  ochre  sand,  strongly 
effervescent  at  17  feet  but  not  effervescent  at  the  bot- 
tom except  in  spots 6^ 

Boring  No.  2. — About  50  feet  south  of  Boring  No.  i  a 
pit  3  feet  deep  was  dug,  all  of  it  being  in  black  soil  which 
contained  a  few  pieces  of  charcoal.  The  boring  in  the  bot- 
tom of  this  showed : 

Thickness 
Feet 

6.  Fine  sandy  silt,  dirty  gray,  non-calcareous 9 

5.  Black  clay  with  a  thin  streak  of  fine  sand,  a  piece  of  char- 
coal at  a  depth  of  13^  feet  from  the  surface 2 

4.  Fine  sand,  somewhat  silty,  moderately  calcareous 4 

3.  Dark  sandy  silt,  ochre  pellets ^ 

2.  Fine  sand,  silty ^ 

I.  Dark  clay,  like  gumbo,  with  streaks  of  fine  sand i^ 

*The  writer  satisfied  himself  after  careful  inspection  that  the  mixing  was  not 
due  to  the  auger.  The  relationships  of  the  materials  are  markedly  similar  to  those 
found  in  the  exposed  mounds. 


Constitution  of  the  Mounds  91 

Boring  No.  3. — This  boring  was  made  in  the  bottom  of 
a  pit  3  feet  deep,  about  50  feet  south  of  Boring  No.  2,  the 
pit  showing  dark  soil  with  small  chips  of  brick  in  the  top 
and  charcoal  fragments  below,  changing  to  dirty  silty  sand 
in  the  bottom.   The  boring  revealed : 

Thickms! 
Feet 

3.  Fine  siity  sand,  some  pellets  of  limonite  and  rusty  streaks, 
some  trace  of  charcoal  and  some  evidence  of  mixing, 
slightly  calcareous  at  the  base loj^ 

2.  Intermixture  of  dark  clay  and  fine  yellow  sand,  a  frag- 
ment of  charcoal  ^  inch  in  length  about  16  feet  below 
the  original   surface,   non-calcareous S 

1.  Dark  clay,  like  gumbo;  trace  of  charcoal  at  depth  of  19 

feet  below  the  original  surface,  non-calcareous 2 

The  dark  clay  and  the  mixture  of  materials  are  similar 
to  that  seen  in  the  various  human  mounds  previously  de- 
scribed. The  presence  of  charcoal  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
section  as  well  as  in  the  upper  is  also  indicative  that  this 
material  has  had  human  associations. 

Boring  No.  4. — On  the  east  slope  due  east  of  Boring 
No.  I,  a  pit  was  dug  to  a  level  of  16  feet  below  the  top  of 
the  mound  at  Boring  No.  i,  and  the  back  edge  of  the  pit 
was  cut  back  about  4^  feet  horizontally  from  the  slope, 
developing  a  vertical  face  4  feet  high.  The  back  face 
showed  a  mixture  of  materials,  but  whether  or  not  they 
were  in  place  could  not  be  definitely  ascertained.  A  boring 
was  put  down  about  3  feet  from  the  natural  slope,  which 
showed: 

1  liickmss 
feet 

2.  Mottled  gray  and  ochre  and  grayish  yellow  and  black 

silt,  calcareous  in  spots  at  a  depth  of  i  to  3  feet  from 

the  top  of  the  boring,  non-calcareous  below I2j4 

I.  Black,  tenacious,  humus  clay,  like  gumbo,  with  some  sug- 
gestion of  a  gray  mixture,  non-calcareous 5 

The  mixture  of  materials,  the  rather  anomalous  rela- 
tion of  non-calcareous  beneath  calcareous  without  the 
usual  additional  evidence  of  an  interval  of  weathering,  and 
the  gumbo-like  clay  at  the  base,  are  indicative  of  a  human 
mode  of  origin.  The  end  of  the  auger  reached  a  level  33^4 
feet  below  the  top  of  the  mound.   It  is  of  course  not  possi- 


92  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

ble,  without  trenching  or  tunnehng,  to  demonstrate  that 
these  materials  pass  into  the  mound.  Even  tho  the  upper 
part  of  the  boring  may  be  in  slump  material,  the  lower  part 
is  believed  to  be  deep  enough  to  pass  through  the  slump. 

Boring  No.  5. — A  pit  was  dug  1 1  feet  lower  vertically 
than  the  preceding,  or  27  feet  below  the  summit  of  the 
mound,  and  a  boring  was  made  3  feet  from  the  outer  edge 
and  3  feet  vertically  below  the  slope.  The  materials  found 
by  boring  were  16  feet  of  blue-black  clay  with  thin  layers 
of  light  gray  and  ochre-mottled  clay,  all  non-calcareous 
and  without  pebbles. 

Statement  of  Conclusions. — Such  chance  as  these  bor- 
ings afford  for  ascertaining  the  nature  and  arrangement  of 
the  materials,  indicates  that  they  are  man-laid.  They  are 
at  least  in  line  with  the  evidence  offered  years  ago  from 
the  dug  well  on  the  west  side  of  the  mound  and  described 
by  Flagg.  (See  page  64.)  Repeating  a  previous  remark, 
these  borings,  while  made  carefully,  cannot  be  regarded  as 
the  equivalent  in  scientific  value  of  open  trenches,  but  it  is 
to  be  noted  that  the  results  are  consistent  with  the  artificial 
form  of  the  mound. 

Comparison  w^ith  the  Materials  of  the 
East  Valley  Bluff 

Inasmuch  as  it  has  been  asserted  that  the  materials  of  the 
mounds  are  similar  to  the  materials  of  the  valley  bluffs, 
the  writer  made  a  careful  examination  of  the  excellent 
road-cut  exposures  recently  made  along  the  National 
Highway  where  it  ascends  the  bluffs  directly  east  of  Monks 
Mound.  The  deepest  cut  is  at  least  25  feet  deep  and  reveals 
only  loess  from  the  foot  of  the  bluff  to  the  top.  Judging 
from  the  adjacent  localities,  the  loess  is  a  thick  mantle 
concealing  the  underlying  glacial  drift  and  bed-rock,  the 
present  grade  of  the  road  nowhere  being  down  to  the  level 
of  the  underlying  materials. 

The  loess  is  loose  and  friable,  floury,  gritty,  and  easily 
blown.    It  contains  a  rather  prolific  mollusca  fauna,  the 


Constitution  of  the  Mounds  93 

following  having  been  collected,  the  large  species  occurring 
mostly  in  the  lower  part : 

Polygyra  appressa  (Say)  Pupoides  margmatus  (Say) 

Pyramidula  alternata  (Say)  Sticcinea  retvsa  Lea 

Pyramidula  shimekii  (Pilsbry)  Succinea  vermeta  Say 

Gastrocopta  contractu  (Say)  Helicina  occulta  Say 

From  a  grayish  color  in  the  lower  part,  the  loess  grades 
through  yellowish  and  buff  to  brownish  in  the  upper  part. 
In  places  it  presents  a  slight  pinkish  cast.  On  the  slope 
it  is  rarely  leached  of  calcium  carbonate  more  than  4  or  5 
feet,  and  generally  less,  but  below  this  leached  zone  it  is 
highly  calcareous.  Save  for  a  few  places  where  there  is  a 
semblance  of  bedding,  stratification  is  generally  lacking. 
Some  sub-spherical  concretions  are  scattered  through  it, 
and  along  horizontal  or  gently  inclined  fracture  planes 
there  is  a  limy  concentration,  the  product  of  the  dissolving 
action  of  ground  water  above  and  precipitation  below. 

In  all  of  the  cuts,  there  was  no  such  mixture  of  mate- 
rials as  occur  in  the  excavated  mounds ;  no  sign  of  human 
disturbance ;  no  content  of  human  implements,  flint  chips, 
sea  shells,  pottery,  charcoal  fragments,  specimens  of  trav- 
ertine, burned  horizons,  bones  of  animals  nor  any  other 
evidence  of  human  activity;  no  content  of  gumbo  lenses 
or  balls  or  irregular  masses;  no  promiscuous  mixing  of 
calcareous  and  non-calcareous  materials.  In  short,  there 
is  no  possibility  whatsoever  of  correlating  the  materials  of 
the  bluffs  with  the  layers  of  the  mounds.  Some  loess  may 
have  been  secured  from  the  bluff  and  used  with  various 
materials  of  the  Mississippi  flood-plain  in  the  building  of 
the  mounds,  thus  accounting  for  some  of  the  loess  fossils 
reported  from  the  mounds,  but  the  quantity  of  such  ma- 
terial found  in  the  mounds  is  very  small. 

In  the  mouth  of  Canteen  Creek  Valley,  are  terrace 
remnants  with  a  summit  reaching  the  480-foot  level  on  the 
point  of  a  spur  where  an  Indian  Mound,  20  feet  or  more 
in  height,  is  situated.  Many  flint  chips  occur  in  the  soil 
but  no  exposure  of  old  alluvial  materials  could  be  found. 
A  gulley  wash  on  the  south  side  exposes  7  to  8  feet  of  fos- 
siliferous  buff  loess.  The  terrace  has  a  maximum  width  of 


94  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

about  300  yards.  About  ^4  mile  farther  up  the  valley  is 
another  terrace  remnant.  On  the  south  side  of  the  creek 
a  35-foot  exposure  in  the  valley  wall  shows  only  loess,  yel- 
lowish in  color,  with  a  mottling  of  gray  and  buff.  Another 
road-cut,  20  to  25  feet  deep,  on  the  north  side  of  Schoen- 
berger  Creek,  near  the  interurban  tracks,  exposes  only 
loess.  A  new  highway  cut  at  Edgemont  just  north  of  the 
cross-roads  shows  reddish  loess  with  large,  sub-spiral  snail 
shells,  beneath  buff  loess. 

About  one  mile  southwest  of  Caseyville,  the  Pennsyl- 
vanian  strata  make  up  a  considerable  portion  of  the  bluff. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  EVIDENCE  AND 
CONCLUSIONS 

The  present  study  of  the  external  characteristics  and  geo- 
logical setting  of  the  mounds,  and  of  the  exposures  made  in 
four  of  them,  has  yielded  the  following  lines  of  evidence 
bearing  upon  their  mode  of  origin : 

1.  The  summit  area  of  all  of  the  mounds  is  so  limited 
that  this  fact  alone  minimizes  the  force  of  the  suggestion 
that  they  are  terrace  remnants  of  a  former  higher  filling  of 
the  Mississippi  River  Valley. 

2.  Their  pyramidal,  oval,  and  circular  shapes  are  not 
in  keeping  with  the  usual  irregular  outlines  of  erosion 
remnants  and  this,  together  with  their  steep  uniform 
slopes,  carries  the  aspect  of  an  artificial  mode  of  origin. 
They  are  clearly  not  sand  dunes,  kames,  eskers,  or  natural, 
constructional  forms  of  any  sort. 

3.  The  dominant  orientation  of  the  elongate  mounds 
with  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  and  the 
striking  alignment  of  many  of  the  mounds,  are  difficult  to 
explain  on  the  basis  of  the  natural  theory,  and  point  strong- 
ly to  their  being  man-arranged  and  man-made. 

4.  The  absence  of  meander  scars  on  the  slopes  of  the 
mounds  or  at  their  base  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  idea 
that  they  are  terrace  remnants. 

5.  A  critical  consideration  of  the  history  of  the  alluvial 
filling  of  the  Mississippi  River  Valley  and  of  the  behavior 
and  capacity  for  work  of  that  master  stream,  together  with 
the  evidences  of  its  great  activity  and  shifting,  makes  it 
appear  doubtful  if  any  of  the  original  fill  is  present  in  the 
valley,  altho  such  a  possibility  can  hardly  be  precluded. 
According  to  this  view,  the  glacial  filling  was  probably 
removed  by  the  voluminous  waters  of  Lake  Chicago,  Lake 
Duluth,  and  Lake  Agassiz,  and  the  present  filling  is  the 
result  of  the  "scour  and  fill"  and  "cut  and  fill"  processes 
of  the  present  shifting  and  oscillatory  stream. 

6.  If  the  mounds  are  terrace  remnants  of  a  former 
higher  filling,  the  materials  of  which  they  are  composed 

95 


96  The  Cahokia  Mounds 

should  show  the  stratification  and  assortment  of  that  type 
of  filling.  If  the  filling  was  glacial  till,  the  materials  should 
be  of  that  character;  if  eolian,  they  should  be  limited  in 
texture  to  that  size  which  wind  can  carry;  if  lacustrine, 
they  should  be  characteristic  of  quiet  water  deposition  ex- 
cept near  the  shore  line;  if  fluvial  they  should  show  the 
texture  and  structure  of  materials  deposited  by  running 
water.  The  materials  of  all  four  mounds  examined  do  not 
show  the  characteristics  of  any  of  these  physiographic 
agencies.  They  are  stratiform  but  not  stratified;  they  are 
mainly  of  fine  materials — silts,  fine  sands  and  gumbo — 
but  unassorted,  lumps  and  masses  of  one  kind  being  inter- 
calated with  materials  of  another  kind,  and  bones,  artifacts, 
flints,  travertine  fragments,  charcoal  and  pottery  being 
scattered  throughout  without  any  suggestion  of  a  mechan- 
ical separation  or  orientation;  the  contacts  of  the  layers 
are  minutely  jagged  and  not  smooth;  calcareous  materials 
are  mixed  heterogenously  with  non-calcareous  materials; 
salt-water  shells  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  occur  indiscrim- 
inately with  local  fresh-water  shells ;  burned  layers  occur 
at  various  horizons ;  and  a  long  series  of  holes  with  bone 
refuse  in  their  bottoms  was  found  in  one  mound.  Such 
mixture,  such  an  arrangement,  such  a  complex  association 
of  unusual  materials,  are  characteristic  only  of  man-made 
mounds. 

7.  In  the  mound  which  was  opened  down  to  its  base, 
undisturbed  material,  characteristic  of  an  old  sub-soil  zone 
and  similar  to  natural  flood-plain  materials  was  found  to 
underlie  the  mound.  In  this  case  the  mound  possessed  no 
original  nucleus,  and  if  any  is  present  in  the  other  three 
mounds,  which  were  opened  almost  to  their  base,  they 
must  be  trivial. 

In  the  face  of  these  evidences  it  is  difficult  to  conclude 
other  than  that  the  mounds  which  have  been  thus  far  ex- 
posed are  of  human  origin,  and  in  view  of  the  external 
features  of  the  others,  it  seems  probable  that  they  are  also 
the  product  of  human  activity,  the  case  being  less  clear  for 
Monks  Mound  than  for  any  other  because  of  its  large  size 


Summary  and  Conclusion  97 

and  the  possibility  of  it  possessing  a  considerable  nucleus. 
But  it  seems  fair  to  say  that  its  artificial  form  and  the  evi- 
dence derived  from  auger  borings  is  consistent  with  the 
view  that  a  large  part  of  it  at  least  is  the  work  of  the 
mound-builders.  Further  explorator>^  work  on  these 
mounds  will  be  observed  with  interest  by  both  the  geolo- 
gist and  archeologist. 


i 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATE  I 

Figs,  i,  2,  3. — Burial  pots  with  skeleton  No.  12,  Alound  No.  20;  2,  3.  characteristic 
Cahokia  forms,  especially  3.  (A363.  a,  b.  c.)  Fig.  4 — Small  pot  with  skeleton  No.  9. 
a  child  (A304).  Fig.  5 — Small  crucible-like  pot  from  burned  basin.  Sawmill  Mound 
(A305).  Fig.  6. — Burial  pot  with  skeleton  No.  11,  Sawmill  Mound  (A306).  (% 
natural  size.) 


Plate  I 


PLATE  II 
Fig.  1. — A  vessel  of  considerable  size,  probably  a  salt  pan,  Well's-lippett's  \  illa^'e 
Site  (A355).  Figs.  2-4. — Grooved  stones  of  quartzite-like  sandstone,  possibly  sinew- 
stones  (A356),  Ramey  Village  Site.  Fig.  5. — Grooved  stone  of  quartzite-like  sand- 
stone, from  burned  basin  100  yards  south  of  Sawmill  Mound  (.^357).  (About  >^ 
natural  size.) 


i 


Plate  II 


PLATE  111 
Figs.    i-6. — Types  of  decorated  pottery,  Well's-Tippett's  Village  Site    (A3 13).      {^^ 
natural  size.) 


Pl.ATK    III 


PLATE  IV 
Figs.   1-9. — Fragments  of  pottery,  WelTs-Tippett's  Village  Site,   i   to  3J/S   ft.  below 
surface    (A3 13).      Fig.    10. — Peculiarly   decorated   pottery   fragment,   Ramey  Village 
Site  (A3 14).    Figs.  5,  6  are  common  Cahokia  designs.    (^  natural  size.) 


I 


;1r' 


Z-^--'^ 


'\ 


■N. 


^s 


^^ 


.# 


% 


t 


Plate  IV 


PLATE  V 
Yic.   I. — Pottery  fragment,  James  Ramey  Mound,  depth  of  23   feet.    (A3 10).    Figs. 
2-8. — Ramey  Village  Site,  types  of  pottery  design    (A3 12).     (-Ji  natural  size.) 


i 


Plate  V 


PLATE  \T 
Decorated  pottery  from  the  James  Ramey  Mound.   Figs.  1-3. — Near  surface  (A307). 
Fig.  4.— Depth  of  19  ft.   (A308).    Figs.' 5,  6.— Depth  of  15  ft.   (A309).    Fig.  7.— 
Depth  of  23  ft.    (A3 10).    Fig.  2. — Engraved  sandstone    (A311).     (%  natural  size.) 


1 


I 


Plate  \I 


PLATE  MI 
Fig.  I. — Shell  gorget  with  skeleton  No.  ii,  Sawmill  Mound  (A321).  Fig.  2. — Shell 
effigy,  Sawmill  Mound,  made  from  shell  of  fresh  water  mussel  (A322).  Fig.  3. — 
Nose  or  ear  ornament  made  from  shell  of  fresh  water  mussel  (Elliptio  dUatatus) 
James  Ramey  Mound  (A323).  Fig.  4. — Clay  birds-head  effigy,  Well's-Tippett's  Vil- 
lage Site,  3  ft.  deep  (A324).  Figs.  5,  6. — Clay  birds-head  effigies,  James  Ramey 
Mound,  16-23  feet  below  surface  (A325).  Fig.  7. — Clay  mammal-head  effigy. 
Sawmill  Mound  (A326).  Fig.  8. — Portion  of  clay  pot  or  ornament  (A327).  Fig.  9. — 
Ornament  on  rim  of  pot  (A328).  Figs.  8.  9. — From  James  Ramev  Mound.  {Yj^ 
natural  size.) 


Plate  VII 


PLATE  VIII 
Figs.  2,  4,  9,  12. — Shell  beads  made  from  marine  conch  (Busycon)  (A329).  Figs.  5. 
6. — Shell  beads  made  from  fresh  water  mussels  (A330).  Figs,  i,  11. — Shell  orna- 
ments from  marine  Busycon  (A331).  Figs.  7.  8.  10,  20. — Shell  ornaments  made 
from  fresh  water  mussels '  (A332).  Figs.  13,  15.  17. — Shells  and  central  axis  of 
marine  conch,  Busycon  perversa  {A333).  Fig.  16. — Marine  conch,  Busycon  carica 
(A442).  Fig.  19. — Ornament  made  of  side  of  Busycon  shell  (A334).  Fig.  14. — Ma- 
rine shell,  Strombus  Pugilis  alatus  (A334).  Fig.  18. — Marine  olive  shell,  OUva  lit- 
terata  (A336).  All  from  James  Ramey  Mound,  between  8  and  23  feet  below  surface. 
(Figs.  I  to  12.  about  natural  size:   13  to  20.  about  Ys  natural  size.) 


2 


-^     in- 


v^ 


3  4 


^    i.  ^ 


8 


U^     -.       "'i;^' 


^^^^ 


\ 


14 


J 


15 


]6  19 


/ 


k  17 


\ 


Plate  VIII 


PLATE  IX 
Figs.  i.  2. — Awl  and  celt  made  of  deer  bone  (A337,  A338)  Well's-Tippett's  Village 
Site.  Figs.  3.  7. — Deer  bone  awls,  James  Ramey  Mound,  8  feet  deep  (A339).  Fig. 
4. — Bone  awl  with  skeleton  No.  39,  Pittsburg  Lake  (A340).  Figs.  S,  6. — Bone  awls 
(A341,  A342).  From  Judge  Sullivan's  Mound,  10  ft.  below  surface.  Fig.  8. — 
Bone  knife  with  skeleton  No.  11,  Sawmill  Mound  (A343).  Fig.  9. — Part  of  breast 
bone  of  Virginia  deer,  Ramey  Village  Site  (A344).  Fig.  10. — Awl  made  from  heel 
(calcaneous  bone)  of  deer  (Odocoilnis  virgimanus)  found  with  skeleton  No.  18 
(mounds  19.  20,  21)  (A345).  Fig.  11. — Pathologic  leg  bone  of  deer,  from  Ramey 
Village  Site  (A346).  Fig.  12. — Foot  bone  of  Wapiti  with  deeply  incised  lines. 
James  Ramey  Mound  (A347).  Fig.  13. — Lower  jaw  of  Virginia  deer  used  as  a 
chisel  or  gouge.  Sawmill  Mound    (A348).    (About  Y^,  natural  size.) 


Plate  IX 


PLATE  X 

Fig.  I. — Flint  or  chert  knife  of  fine  workmanship:  James  Ramey  Mound,  12  feet 
deep,  near  stake  125  (A358).  Fig.  3. — Shouldered  hoe.  Figs.  2,  4. — Spades,  of  flint 
or  chert,  from  field  southwest  of  "Monk's  Mound  (A359,  A360).  Fig.  5. — Spade  of 
ffint  or  chert:  James  Ramey  Mound,  west  side.  17  feet  deep  {A361).  (About  y< 
natural  size.) 


I 


Plate  X 


PLATE  XI 

Pottery  disks,  perforated  and  unperforated,  are  common  in  the  mounds  and  on  the 
surface.  Attention  is  directed  to  the  peculiar  design  on  Fig.  3.  Fragments  such  as 
Fig.  I,  with  a  rude  circle  and  cross  lines  are  frequently  found.  Fig.  i. — Pottery 
fragment  with  oval  design;  Sawmill  Mound,  3  feet  deep  (A3 15).  Fig.  2. — Pottery 
disc,  James  Ramey  Mound,  15  feet  deep  (A316).  Fig.  3. — Fragment  with  peculiar 
design;  Stock  Yard's  Village  Site  (A3 17).  Fig.  4. — Pottery  disc,  James  Ramey 
Mound,  12  feet  deep  (A318).  Fig.  5. — Perforated  clay  disc,  Well's-Tippett's  Village 
Site  (A3 19).  Fig.  6. — Perforated  disc  of  fine-grained  sandstone,  Ramey  \'illage  Site 
(A320).    (}i  natural  size.) 


Plate  XI 


PLATE  XII 
Fig.  I. — Flint  knife,  broken;  James  Ramey  Mound,  8  feet  deep  (A349).  Fig.  2. — 
Fine-pointed  needle  of  bone,  with  skeleton  No.  30;  mounds  19,  20,  21  (A350). 
Figs.  3-5. — Bone  awls,  Well's-Tippetts  Village  Site  (A351).  Figs.  6-8. — Flint  arrow 
points,  James  Ramey  Alound.  17  feet  deep  (A3S2).  Figs.  9.  10. — Flint  war  arrow 
points,  Well's-Tippett's  Milage  Site  (A353).  Fig.  11. — Flint  spear  head,  James 
Ramey  Alound,  17  feet  deep  (A354).  (Figs.  2-5,  ^  natural  size;  i,  6-11,  about 
natural  size.) 


Plate  XII 


PLATE  XIII 

Fig.    I. — Di^;ging    trench    in    Sawmill    Mound.     Fig.    2. — Skeleton    No.    ii,    Sawmill 
Mound   {A302). 


Plate  XIII 


PLATE  XIV 

Fig.    I. — Skeleton  No.    12,  from   Mound  No.   20    (A485).    Fig.   2. — Circle  in  James 
Ramev  Mound;  also  basins  and  circle  of  post  holes. 


Plate  XIV 


PLATE  XV 
Fig.  I. — Trench  in  James  Ramey  Mound  (No.  33).    Note  altar  in  center  foreground 
at  trowel.    Fig.  2. — Skeletons  in  position.  Mound  No.   20.    Fig.  3. — General  view  of 
circles  in  James  Ramey  Mound. 


1 


!i 


Plate  XV 


PLATE  XVI 

Fig.  I. — Bone  awls  and  needles.  Figs.  2-6. — Mussel  shells  (Lampsilis  vcntricosa) ; 
W.  J.  Seever  coll.;  {J4  natural  size).  Fig.  7. — Hematite  axe.  Fig.  8. — Grooved  axe; 
Monticello  Seminary  coll.  Fig.  9. — Celt  of  porphyritic  rock,  Well's-Tippett's  Village 
Site   (A362).    (Yi  natural  size.) 


Plate  XVI 


PLATE  XVn 

Figs.  1-5. — Fi\e  pipes,  several  of  them  effigies,  from  the  Mouticello  Seminarv  Col- 
lection. Figs.  6,  7. — Stone  effigies;  Alonticello  Seminary  Collection.  Fig.  8.— Large 
effigy   pipe;   W.  J.   Seever  Collection.     (See  p.  45  for  description.) 


Plate  XVII 


PLATE  XVIII 
Fig.  I. — String  of  shell  beads  cut  from  busycon  conch.    Fig.  2. — Marine  conch  shell. 
Busycon  carica.    Fig.  3. — Marine  conch  shell,  Busycon  perversa.     (14  natural  size.) 
Monticello    Seminary    coll.      Fig.   4. — Arrowhead    of    quartz,    unusual    workmanship. 
(Natural  size.)    Found  on  the  surface  of  Monk's  Mound. 


Plate  XVIII 


PLATE  XIX 

View  of  the  Fox  Mound  and  another  mound  located  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
south  of  Monk's  Mound.    Photograph  by  Mr.  Gordon  Servant. 


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PLATE  XX 

One  of  the  smaller  mounds  of  the  group.    Photograph  by  Mr.  Gordon  Servant. 


PLATE  XXI 

Monk"s  Mound  viewed  from  the  southeast,  showing  in  the  left  foreground  the  ter- 
race or  apron.    Cut  loaned  by  Smithsonian   Institution. 


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